The Myth of the Mind
by 0Anonymo0
Summary: When an orphaned Percy Jackson gets dragged into Camp Half-Blood, he finds the opportunity to make friends, have grand adventures, and become a legend. Navigating the seas? Creating hurricanes out of thin air? Pfft, who needs all that when the power to shape the world and reality itself sounds so much better? AU, Rated for mild language.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Percy Jackson, obviously, or else I wouldn't be writing fan fiction instead of the real thing.

* * *

**Chapter One: Gods, Demigods, Monsters, and Mortals**

Percy Jackson blew his ebony hair out of his sharp, green eyes. He was currently looking out the window of his classroom, relieving his morning. The twelve-year-old couldn't believe that he'd wrecked his room _again_, and especially to the extent that he had. It wasn't his fault though, Ernie should've just left him alone like everyone else did, but the idiot just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

-Flashback-

_Percy stashed all of his books into his backpack. When he had everything, he slung the bag over his shoulder, stood up, and walked towards the door._

_Just when he was about to reach the handle, one of his roommates flung the door open, smashing it against Percy's face and making him fall to the ground._

_"OW! What the hell Ernie!?" Percy complained, holding his throbbing nose with one hand while using the other for support._

_If Ernie heard him, he didn't show it. The boy walked around the room, eyes scanning every inch, before rounding on Percy with a slight glare. "Hey, where's my bag?" He demanded._

_Percy's incredulous face shifted to one of annoyance. "What?" he spat. "No 'sorry about slamming a door in your face'?"_

_Ernie glanced sideways and scratched the back of his head before responding. "...Whatever. So, the bag?"_

_Percy stood up and began to head out. "How should I know? Check under your bed or something."_

_"You didn't take it did you?" Ernie suddenly asked before Percy could leave the room._

_Percy started getting angry. "No, stupid. Bye."_

_Ernie squared his jaw and his glare intensified. "Don't call me stupid you freak!"_

_Percy turned around so fast Ernie almost took a step back. "Don't call me a freak you ass!"_

_Ernie couldn't help himself. "But you are! Now give me back my stuff you weirdo!"_

_With clenching fists, Percy said, "You're an asshole Ernie! If you keep acting like such a jerk no one's ever gonna adopt you!"_

_Ernie scoffed before his voice filled with contempt. "Look who's talking. Like anyone'll ever adopt a freak like you!"_

_With that, the whole room turned into chaos. Beds and tables slid all over the floor, clothes flew around in the air, and decorations were flung across the room._

-Flashback-

The matron arrived shortly after to see what all the commotion was about. What she found was a complete and utter mess inside the four wooden walls.

Anything made of glass was broken into thousands of pieces, all the recently made beds were cluttered with trash and some were even upside down, and all the clothing was covering the floor like a new carpet.

She didn't ask what happened, and she didn't even look particularly angry. All she did was look at Percy with an expression that seemed to say _'what am I going to do with you?'_  
and order both boys to run off to school before they were late.

Ernie even found his bag, it turned out to be on a bench behind the front desk. Apparently he left it there the night before so he wouldn't forget where he left it.

"Mr. Jackson?"

Percy snapped out of his musings and looked to his history teacher. "Oh! Uh... Yeah Mr. Brunner?"

Some students chuckled at his response, but most just seemed annoyed.

"Are you paying attention Mr. Jackson?" Mr. Brunner asked with a quirk of his lips.

Crap. He hadn't been paying attention at all. "Of course I was sir."

"Splendid Mr. Jackson. Can you tell me what I was talking about?"

What had he been talking about? '_C'mon Percy, think! Wait... Oh yeah! He was talking about...'_ "The fall of Troy." Percy said with confidence. "Right sir?"

Mr. Brunner didn't look all that surprised at his answer, but the crippled man smiled and said, "Very good Mr. Jackson, right in the nose, as usual. Now, while the Iliad ends with the death of King Hector, the city itself continued the resistance with the help of several allies..."

Percy grinned as he remembered the first time Mr. Brunner caught him daydreaming. The man was so surprised that Percy had apparently been listening the entire time that he almost fell of his wheelchair before shakily getting back to his lecture.

One of the things Percy had noticed at an early age was that he didn't have to actually focus on something to remember it. It was like his brain split its attention to anything and everything going on around him.

At first, he just figured he had good reflexes and a good memory, but when he found out that he could remember a conversation two kids were having behind him word for word while he was playing with a Gameboy he knew something weird was going on.

Not that he was complaining, after all it was pretty cool that he didn't have to pay any real attention in class and still get good grades. Percy never told anyone though, he was already weird enough without the whole 'multitasking brain' thing.

His thoughts were interrupted by the bell, and he couldn't help but smile to himself a little. That ringing meant that there was only one day of school left before summer vacation.

Not that Percy hated school or anything. It was cool enough, especially Mr. Brunner's class.

Mr. Brunner was crippled and needed a wheelchair, but he was still the coolest teacher in the school, at least in Percy's opinion. His favorite teacher had a knack for making history fun, whether it was dressing up in full hoplite gear or going outside and recreating the Battle of Marathon.

He was definitely better than Ms. Shelly, the teacher he replaced after Christmas vacation. Sure, her resignation had been rather sudden, but the young student figured she was about as excited to teach his class as his class was to learn from her. The history subject had almost instantly taken a turn for the better, and Percy couldn't wait to ace the his final exam the next day and make his crippled teacher proud.

As he walked out of the room, he heard the subject of his thoughts call him. "Mr. Jackson, before you leave, there's something I need to speak to you about."

Some of the other kids snickered at Percy, and he couldn't help but think that maybe he was in trouble. He stayed behind as everyone else left, leaving him and Mr. Brunner alone.

"Uh, yeah Mr. Brunner, what's up?" he asked, wringing his hands. Percy met his teacher' gaze, trying to appear unconcerned, though he failed exceptionally.

"Oh, stop that Mr. Jackson, you aren't in any sort of trouble. I just have a few things to say to you," Mr. Brunner told Percy in a calm voice.

"Oh... well, okay then, what's going on?"

"Well first of all, I'd like to know if you enjoyed my class this year?"

Percy gave him a big grin. "Well yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone did."

Mr. Brunner smiled, like that had been the answer he was hoping to get. "Well I'm glad you think that Mr. Jackson, and I hope you learned much?"

Percy suddenly looked very sheepish. "Well yeah, but..."

"But?"

"To tell the truth sir... All we studied about was Ancient Greece. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I thought you were gonna talk about some other stuff too, you know?"

"Ah," Mr. Brunner gave him a strange look, "yes, well I thought it would be for the best that you knew certain parts of history. Specifically that part."

The way he said it, Percy almost thought that we wasn't talking about the rest of the class. "I guess. It was alright either way," he said, shrugging off his thoughts.

Mr. Brunner suddenly got serious. "It might not appear to be, but knowing our history is very important. Can you tell me why Mr. Jackson?"

Even though the question was a bit strange, Percy thought about it. "Hmm..." Percy rout a hand to his chin, contemplating the possible answers. "Well... I guess... Yeah," he nodded to himself, and Mr. Brunner listened in interest. "I'm sure that I don't know."

The sixth grade history teacher resisted the urge to palm his face, and just sighed, setting his eyes on the stack of papers on his desk. "That's quite alright Mr. Jackson," he told him. "I'm sure you'll find out someday. Now, I have a test to prepare. Goodbye, and good luck. I'm sure you will need it."

The older man fixed him with knowing eyes, and at that moment, Mr. Brunner seemed to know everything that had or would ever happen to him, like his life was a movie he'd seen thousands of times. As soon as it came though, it left, and Percy only looked strangely at his teacher before deciding to leave.

"See you tomorrow Mr. Brunner."

Farewell said, Percy turned around and left the classroom, closing the door with a resounding click.

* * *

Percy could honestly say that he had just experienced the most monotonous, utterly boring moments of his entire life. Sure, he liked the subject well enough, but sitting for so long answering questions on a piece of paper in complete silence could suck away the enjoyment out of anything.

When Mr. Brunner said it was going to be a long test, he hadn't been kidding. It was so long that even with the given _three hours_ to complete the test, Percy almost didn't finish, and he knew all the answers!

'_Done!'_ He thought with a sigh of relief. His hand was sore from all the hurried writing, and his behind hurt from sitting in the hard wood seat for so long.

Just as he flipped over his papers, the school bell rang, signifying the end of the test, and the start of his three months of freedom. As the bell rung one last time, Percy went over to say goodbye to his favorite teacher.

"Ah, Mr. Jackson. I assume you did alright?" Mr. Brunner asked jovially as he was packing his briefcase.

Percy smirked with satisfaction written all over his face. "Aced it actually," he answered, then sighed, stretching out his back., "though it was a little long don't you think?"

Mr. Brunner beamed at his response before chuckling at his last comment. "Yes well, I needed to make sure that you really knew it all," he told his student.

"Anyway," Percy began, "I wanted to say goodbye. You probably won't see much of me, unless you're switching grades?"

Mr. Brunner's lips quirked in amusement, like he had a secret Percy didn't know about. "Unfortunately I won't be switching grades Mr. Jackson, because I'll be leaving the school after today."

Percy was shocked. "You're quitting? W-Why?"

Mr. Brunner gave him a sheepish look before answering. "I've... decided to pursue an opportunity that arose a few months ago," he said, "but worry not Mr. Jackson, I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of each other in the future."

Percy didn't really know what he meant by that, but he was willing to trust his teacher. "Alright," he said, "well, see you then I guess."

With a wave, Percy left his sixth grade history classroom and strolled down the hall, towards the front doors. It only took a few seconds of walking to notice that the halls were completely empty.

Looking around, a very confused Percy saw opened lockers, bags lying around the floor, and locked doors.

"What the he-!"

Before he could finish, the door to his left exploded, along with a good portion of the wall. Percy quickly backed away, eyes wide and mouth agape, before a large, lumbering mass moved through the smoke and rubble.

What came out of the hole shocked Percy into silence before he could think to voice his rising panic. It was a monster of a man, at least twice the size of what should've been possible, complete with ridiculously muscled arms and chest.

What really stood out though, was everything else. The beast's legs were huge and furry, with hoofs instead of feet, and a tail swishing wildly behind. Its head was that of a bull, with very sharp and intimidating horns, and floppy ears that stayed down, attached to its sides.

What really terrified Percy though, was the creature's eyes. The beady red orbs were full of so much fury and hate that the young boy couldn't believe they weren't set on fire.

As if sensing his fright, inanimate objects strewn about the halls started levitating. Some were flung away, while others circled around Percy as if forming a kind of shield.

Behind him, the door to a locker was blown right off its hinges and blasted directly at the monster's face, hitting it with a metallic _'clang!'_ that echoed across the hallways. The beast stumbled back a bit, the sheer force of the attack catching it off guard, before it regained its bearings and roared with all its might at the small twelve-year-old.

Giving in to its anger, the bull man charged down the hall, horns pointed forward, the intent to kill written in every move.

Percy was still paralyzed, even though something at the back of his mind screamed at him to move out if the way.

"Percy!"

The sudden voice snapped Percy out of his trance, and he looked for the source behind him. There, Mr. Brunner caught his eyes before quickly throwing him a ball-point pen with a shout of "Tally-Ho!"

'_A freaking pen!? Really!?'_ Percy almost pulled out his hair right then and there before the pen transformed into a bronze, leaf shaped sword in midair.

He caught it by the handle, but before he could admire it his instincts urged him to roll to his left. The large creature charged right by, seemingly unable to make such a precise turn, and as it passed him, Percy struck.

As fast as he could manage, the young boy slashed at the monster's knee with as much strength as he could muster. The beast stumbled, and Percy heard a low groan before it fell on its face, getting dragged across the floor because of its momentum.

As it got back up, Percy slowly approached it, sword raised, looking out for any sudden moves. Of course, that's exactly what the beast did, and it swung its heavy arms, hitting Percy on the side and flinging him hard into the wall, where he crashed with a painful yelp.

To Percy, it felt like getting hit by a sledgehammer. It hurt to breathe, but he was able to compose himself before the monster could take advantage of his pause.

The beast swung its other arm in a great hook, but Percy ducked under the large appendage and stabbed his sword right under its ribs. The monster bellowed in pain, and tried to hit Percy again with the same arm.

He sidestepped the beast's painfully slow attack, and drove his sword once more into the same area under the monster's ribs with a great yell before quickly retreating before he could push his luck. The bull man was in obvious pain now, it held its side with both arms and kneeled so as not to put pressure on its damaged knee.

As if sensing that it was no longer a threat, all the floating objects dropped and clattered to the ground. Percy wasn't about to let it go, however, and he charged at the beast and tried to stab his sword through its neck. The monster tensed though, and in a surprising move, it reached out and grabbed Percy, plucking him off the ground. _'It was trap!' _he realized, too late to escape the bull-man's grip.

The beast swung its arm over its head in random patterns, dizzying Percy. As Percy was about to vomit, the monster cocked its arm back, preparing to throw the young boy at the closest wall. Percy decided he didn't want to break his neck, so just as he was being released, the boy stabbed his sword into the beast's muscular arm. As his body flew out of the monster's hand, his sword sliced through its arm, leaving a deep, long gash.

The monster screamed in pain, dropping to the ground and holding its arm. Percy's actions also served as an improvised way to solos down his momentum, and when he crashed into the wall hard only caused a mild gasp to escape his lips.

With the beast distracted, Percy decided to take his chance. Once again, he charged at the monster, and when tried to grab him again with the other arm, Percy dodged the monster's appendage and stabbed his sword through its head, killing it instantly. For what felt like hours, Percy stood there, staring at the blank eyes of the bull-man, his sword driven through skis scull. The beast exploded into golden dust, and Percy stumbled forward, but managed to balance himself before he fell down.

After the fight was over, and the adrenaline left his body, Percy realized just how tired he was. He could barely lift the sword in his hands, and had to work for every breath. The young boy considered just laying down and letting unconsciousness take him right then and there, but the arrival of Mr. Brunner at his side banished all thoughts of sleep.

"I must say," his history teacher started, "that was rather well done, especially for someone as inexperienced as you, my boy."

"Mr. Brunner," Percy stammered, "w-what... what the hell was that?"

Mr. Brunner gave him an amused smile. "Ah, Mr. Jackson," he said calmly, "you know that creature quite well. The son of Pasiphaë? The roamer of the great Labyrinth? We studied about him in class."

Percy raised an eyebrow before it clicked. "Y-You're kidding me right? The Minotaur? You're f-f-freaking kidding me!"

Mr. Brunner's face got slightly serious. "Careful Percy," he warned, like telling a child not to play with fire, "names have power. I'd be more cautious if I were you."

Percy stared at the golden pile of dust as it slowly blew away with the air conditioner breeze. "Right." He said. "So... what now?"

Mr. Brunner gave Percy a full smile at that. "Now?" he chuckled. "Why, now we go to camp!"

* * *

Mr. Brunner rolled with haste down the messy halls, Percy following right at his heels (or wheels in this case). His sword, which he found out from his teacher was called _Anaklusmos_, or Riptide, was back in its pen form, secured snugly in his pocket, where it would reappear whenever he misplaced it.

He'd tried giving it back to the cripple, but Mr. Brunner had been very adamant about him having something to protect himself with.

_"Monsters like this are sure to keep coming after you, and you'll need a sword anyway. Plus, you showed a surprising amount of skill without any training. I can't think of anyone better to wield this sword."_

This didn't do much to reassure Percy though, especially since he didn't really know how to use a sword and was pretty sure that he only beat the Minotaur with an incredible amount of luck.

At least it was impossible to lose his new weapon, because his track record wasn't the best when it came to keeping writing utensils.

Finally, they reached the front doors of the school to find a sleek, bronze plated chariot waiting for them. Even more surprising were the two horses attached to the chariot's reins, stomping and neighing so realistically that Percy would've mistaken them for real horses, that is, if they wouldn't of been robots made of bronze.

The young boy stood there, gaping for so long that Mr. Brunner had to snap his fingers in front of his face to snap him out of it. "Surprised?" Mr. Brunner asked.

"Are those robot horses?" Percy asked as an answer.

He was ignored as they reached the chariot and Percy noticed the apparent driver for the first time.

He was a huge African-American dude with huge hands and huge muscles. Percy thought the guy must've been mad about something, what with the scowl on his face, but was proven wrong when he turned and smiled at them.

"Chiron!" He called out with a relieved smile. "Thank the gods you're alright. I was worried after you sent me that IM."

Percy turned around, thinking that he was talking to someone else, but his assumptions were disproved when his teacher talked back. "Charles! I'm glad you could get here in such haste. Are the automatons ready for a quick escape? I'm afraid that after the commotion we just caused, some monsters might find it in their best interests to come and see if there is anything to finish off."

"Of course, get on!" The big guy said, and just when he finished, a monstrous roar was heard from behind them.

Percy turned around, expecting a big bull man to come tumbling around the corner, but his eyes bugged out when he saw a very red, very big, and very angry looking dog instead.

He and Mr. Brunner, or Chiron apparently, quickly got on the chariot as more and more of the monsters came speeding towards them. Their new ally got the horses moving, and a few moments later they were speeding down the street.

Chiron (Mr. Brunner?) suddenly had a bow in his hand that he took out of _somewhere_ and started picking off the huge dogs that were still chasing after them.

"Charles! Get Percy here up to speed while I take care of these hellhounds!" he shouted over the noise of bronze wheels rolling on pavement, then shot another arrow that hit one right between the eyes.

'Charles' scowled at Percy, which made him a bit nervous until he realized that he probably couldn't help it. The big guy then stuck out his right hand. "Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Percy hesitated for a second before shaking his monstrous hands. "Percy Jackson, no idea what's going on, the pleasure's all mine," he replied, shaking off his hand a bit to get the feeling back after Beckendorf's strong grip.

Beckendorf chuckled lightly. "So I guess I'll tell you what's going on then," he said, a bit more seriously. "Here's the thing, all those Greek myths and legends? They're all true. The heroes, like Hercules and Achilles, they all really existed a long time ago back in Ancient Greece. The Greek gods are still around, and they've been moving for the past few thousand years, going wherever they have the most influence. Right now they're here in the US, and they all live on Mt. Olympus, which is floating high over the Empire State Building. All this time the gods have kept getting involved with mortals and having demigod kids, which is what you are. We're taking you somewhere where all demigods are safe, Camp Half-Blood, where you can train to fight monsters and survive the outside world. Any questions?"

Percy just stared blankly at him, and blinked once.

"So, what's up with the robot horses?" he asked after a moment of thought. Beckendorf looked at him incredulously before swerving the chariot to the right to avoid a hellhound that jumped down at them from the roof of a low building.

It crashed into the ground so hard that they heard a few bones breaking, fortunately though, Chiron took it out of its misery with an arrow through the chest.

"You're not surprised about any of this?" Beckendorf asked after he put the chariot back on track, now driving on a dirt path in a forest.

Percy raised an eyebrow at him. "You're kidding right? I'm on a bronze chariot being driven by robot horses, while being chased by a horde of rabid mutts that my history teacher's killing one by one with a bow that he got from nowhere. Not to mention how I just killed a work-out enthusiast with the head of a bull by turning him into dust with my sword that turns into a pen. So, how 'bout those horses?"

Beckendorf shook his head in disbelief before answering his question. "They're automatons. I sort of made them."

Percy's eyes grew wide. "You _made_ them? That's awesome! They act so real, and they're so fast! How'd you do it?"

Beckendorf blushed at the praise. "Well, I'm a son of Hephaestus, so I guess I'm just gifted at that kind of thing, but it was pretty easy all things considered. All I had to do was replicate the access converters from our own cabin onto the recognition software..."

"Never mind, you already lost me," Percy interrupted before he had another thought. "Hey, wait," he started, "how does no one notice a bronze chariot getting chased by a bunch of wild mythical monsters?"

Beckendorf looked a bit put out that he couldn't explain his creations, but answered anyway. "It's the Mist. It hides everything about the gods and monsters from mortals. We can see through it because we're demigods."

"Well I guess that explains a few things then..." Percy trailed off, thinking about all the weird stuff he'd seen throughout the years. A group of one-eyed people playing basketball, a pizza guy with donkey legs, a tree with a woman's face that winked at him...

Not that anyone had believed him about it.

Shaking off his thoughts, Percy asked another question. "So, what do we do in the camp? You said we train but..."

Beckendorf nodded. "Yeah, they'll teach you how to use weapons, how to fight monsters, how to speak Ancient Greek, and anything else that you might need to know."

"So are there like, missions and stuff? The gods always asked their kids to do things for them in the stories."

Beckendorf frowned a little at that (or his scowl deepened). "Not for a while. People used to go on quests every once in a while, but then this guy named Luke went on one and almost died fighting the dragon Ladon in the Garden of Hesperides. He failed, and Chiron hasn't let anyone go on a quest ever since."

Percy didn't really know what to say, so he mumbled out a "damn..." and left it at that.

For a few moments, the only sound besides the chariot rolling through the now dirt road was Chiron shooting an arrow, followed by a yelp and a proofing sound. Breaking the awkward silence, Beckendorf and Percy turned around when they heard several thumping sounds, and saw the hellhounds running into what seemed like an invisible wall.

The son of Hephaestus smiled warmly. "We're here," he said, and when Percy turned around he was breathless at the sight of Camp Half-Blood.

They were on a hill, next to a big pine tree, looking down at the camp with a good view of the beach. There were twelve cabins, all arranged in a big U with campers walking all around. Percy saw what looked to be an arena, a pavilion with several pillars and tables, and an old, wooden, sky-blue house surrounded by a huge grape field. The entire valley was surrounded by forests, and was filled with sounds of laughter and fighting.

He was pretty sure he'd never seen such a beautiful place. There was nature everywhere, and the buildings themselves were nicely built, even if they were all different. The grasslander trees were the greenest he'd ever seen, and when he took a deep breath he could've sworn it was the least polluted air he'd ever breathed in his life.

Chiron came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to camp, Percy," he said cheerily. After a few minutes of just admiring the view (and reattaching Percy's jaw to his mouth), Beckendorf got the horse robots going again, down the hill and towards the entrance.

* * *

**AN:**

**So I finally decided to start this. It's my first story, but I think I did alright for this introduction. Sorry if the Minotaur seemed like kind of a chump, but in all honesty I feel like he kinda is. I mean, he lost to a twelve year old Percy in canon, so he would lose to this Percy too, especially when he has a sword.**

**As you could probably tell by now, this story will be different from canon. The first book will probably have the most similarities, but that's only because it's the best way to set up all the characters and conflicts. The more the story progresses, the bigger the difference will be. In fact, there's already a major divergence because of Percy's powers and parentage (I'll tell you right now that Poseidon isn't his godly parent).**

**Anyway, 'till next time!  
:D**

**UPDATE 9/3/13: Not a real update, just fixing up the first chapter. Also made the Minotaur battle a little longer, 'cause while i read it over I decided that while the Minotaur might be a chump, it's not _that_ much of a chump. **


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Percy Jackson, obviously, or else I wouldn't be writing fan fiction instead of the real thing.

* * *

**Chapter Two: New Friends, New Enemies**

"... with your councilor. Now, you'll be staying at the Hermes cabin until you are claimed by your godly parent, as long as your godly parent is another Olympian. Make sure you don't wander into other cabins, especially the Artemis cabin. Wouldn't want you turning into a jackalope on the first day..."

Now in the office room of the Big House, Percy listened to Chiron lecture about camp rules listlessly. He was much more interested in trying to figure out how in the Hades the centaur managed to fit such a huge horse body into a wheelchair, all covered under a blanket.

After the whole ordeal with the Minotaur and the hellhounds, the demigod wasn't really surprised to find out that his history teacher had been the legendary trainer of heroes. He figured that _someone_ had to know about training the campers, not only because that was the whole point of the camp, but also because after meeting the director, he knew no one else would've done so.

-Flashback-

_Percy was still gawking at Chiron's 'transformation' when Beckendorf left to go check on his cabin. It wasn't every day that you saw your history teacher go from being a scholarly cripple to a scholarly horse man._

_"Now, as I'm sure you've guessed, I am Chiron, the legendary trainer of heroes. If you had any doubts about your learning while at camp, then rest assured, for I have several thousands of years of experience," Chiron announced with pride, until he looked at his student to find him inspecting his discarded wheelchair._

_"Yeah, sure, so how did you fit in here again?" Percy asked, causing Chiron's face to shift into a deadpan expression._

_"Percy, I-" whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the creaking of the front door and the sound of heavy footsteps._

_Percy and Chiron watched as a chubby guy with hair and a beard so black it almost looked purple, wearing a leopard Hawaiian shirt and carrying a diet coke in his hand walked around the corner._

_He noticed them fairly quickly, and his eyes drifted from Chiron to Percy, where they turned from annoyed to even more annoyed. Percy squirmed slightly at the intensity of the man's stare, but met his eyes in defiance, almost expecting a fight._

_"Mr. D," Chiron finally said, after a few seconds of awkward tension, "I didn't expect you to come back so early."_

_'Mr. D' glanced over Chiron before rolling his eyes and taking a seat next to him behind the desk._

_"Yes, well my dear father decided to dismiss the council early after he got into a spat with Hera. Not like there's anything new there, but I'm sure he just wanted to save himself the embarrassment of getting chastised by his wife in public," he drawled out._

_Thunder boomed, and Percy looked out the window only to see clear blue skies. Before he could ask about it, Mr. D addressed him after a sip of his diet coke. "So I guess this is the one you've been observing the past few months. What's your name, brat?"_

_Percy almost called him a fat geezer, but stopped himself, seeing as the 'fat geezer' was sitting behind that desk like he belonged there, which he probably did._

_"It's Percy Jackson," he said as politely as he could, though the attempt was ruined by the death glare he was focusing on the man._

_Mr. D didn't seem to notice how the young demigod tried to burn a hole through his forehead, and if he did he didn't seem to care._

_With a long, drawn out sigh he said, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Perry Johnson. I am Mr. D, camp director, and I expect you to blah, blah, blah."_

_The camp director looked at Chiron. "You can take care of this outside Chiron, I'll be in my office if you need me, which you hopefully won't."_

_He waved his hand at the door, and before Percy could tear him a new one, Chiron tightly gripped the hero-in-training's shoulder and led him out of the office and to the common room._

_After taking a seat, Percy glared at his trainer. "Who does that guy think he is?" he asked with crossed arms. Chiron gave him a stern look before rubbing the bridge of his nose._

_"That was Mr. D, also known as Dionysus, god of madness and wine," he said._

_Percy's eyes grew to the size of diner plates. "That was a god? You're kidding me right?"_

_Chiron looked at Percy right in the eye and shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, that was a god. You'd be surprised at how they are, though I must warn you," his voice turned deadly serious, "do not antagonize them. You are but an ant to the power of the gods. They could crush you with a flick of the wrist."_

_Percy narrowed his eyes, but nodded for the sake of his teacher. If all gods were like Mr. D, it might be hard to stay respectful..._

-Flashback-

"-cy! Percy!"

Chiron shook Percy from his memories with a hand on his shoulder. "Are you even listening Percy?" he asked exasperatedly.

Percy blinked twice, then nodded. "Yeah, you said that since I already know pretty much everything on the introduction video, someone's coming to give me a tour, right?"

Chiron closed his eyes and sighed. "I wish I knew how you do that," he said blandly.

Percy gave him a cheeky smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll tell you when I figure it out myself."

The sound of a door opening prevented the old centaur from giving a response. The shoes hitting the wooden floor came closer until Percy set his eyes at the girl that had just walked into the common room.

She looked about his age, with blonde hair so dark it could've been mistaken for brown, and light hazel eyes. Like everyone else at camp, she wore the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, though it was riddled with dirt and purplish stains. She was pretty, but quite obviously needed a bath. She must've also been used to it, because she walked with no regard for her mud-covered face and tangled hair.

The girl walked up to him and took off her right glove, showing an unblemished and clean hand, a stark contrast to the rest of her person. "My name is Katie Gardner, and I assume I'm here for you?" She asked, sticking out her hand.

"Percy Jackson," he introduced himself, gripping her hand a little too firmly, though she didn't seem to mind. "Um... Yeah, I guess you're supposed to show me around." He stood up and, to his annoyance, found her to be taller than him by an inch or two.

They both turned to Chiron, who looked them both over. "Here Percy," he said, holding out an orange bundle. Percy took it and held it out, spotting the camp logo proudly printed on his new shirt.

Chiron gave him a warm smile. "I'll see you at archery class then. I'm sure you'll do great things here. Just, please don't do anything reckless!"

Percy smiled at his teacher's faith in him. "You've got it Chiron," he said with a firm nod. "I'll see ya around."

"Come Percy, we don't have much time until dinner," Katie told him, patiently waiting for him at the door.

"Uh, yeah! Lets go," he stammered, cursing Chiron in his mind when he heard the horseman chuckle quietly behind him.

He followed Katie out the front door and down the path leading to the cabins. Chiron watched then go from a window, then chuckled lightly to himself as he made his way to his room. "Great things indeed," the centaur murmured, getting ready to take a quick nap before dinner was served. It had been a long day.

* * *

Percy kept pace with Katie as she showed him around the grape fields. He figured she must've come from working there, as it would certainly explain why she looked so messy.

"... and even though we could make wine out of them, we're not allowed to, since Mr. D would probably try to get some. Not that it matters, there's lots of other things we can use the grapes for, like..."

"So, Katie," Percy interrupted, not really wanting to hear another grape lecture, "I guess you know an awful lot about plants."

Katie didn't seem to mind the interruption, as she just rolled her eyes and answered. "Yeah, well I _am_ a daughter of Demeter. Plants are kind of our thing."

Percy perked up with interest. "Can you control nature then? Like, move trees and stuff?"

Katie laughed at that. "No, nothing like that. I can make some small plants grow, but moving trees is out of my league."

Percy frowned a bit. Why wouldn't children of the goddess of agriculture be able to move things other than grapes? Maybe they just didn't train their powers enough? He was about to voice his opinion when he realized something else.

"Is it a coincidence that your name is Gardner and you're a daughter of Demeter, or did your dad name you that as a joke?" he asked with a smirk.

They sat down on a bench at the entrance to the grape fields.

"You're not the first to say something like that you know," Katie responded with a small laugh. "My dad's last name is Gardner, and he's also a gardener, so I guess Mom thought it was a once-in-a-life-time chance."

"A gardener named Gardner?" Percy asked, smirk widening into a full blown smile.

Katie shrugged her shoulders. "Might as well right?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, no reason to tempt fate. Sometimes you just gotta do the obvious thing," he looked her over. "Maybe you should do the obvious thing and go take a bath, it looks like you rolled around in a mud puddle."

Katie scoffed. "If you think this is bad you should see me on days when I _don't_ get off early. Thanks for that by the way. I like tending the fields, but it's a lot of work and it's nice to get a break every once in a while."

Percy quirked his lips. "You're giving me a tour remember? How's that a break?"

Katie grinned at him. "Hanging out with you has been a lot better than watching over some grapes. But you're right, I'm supposed to be showing you the camp, so let's get going." With that, she stood up and made her way out of the grape fields and into the camp proper.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, looking at him over her shoulder. "Get over here already!"

Percy snorted before standing up, taking his camp shirt and stuffing it in his bag. "I'm going, I'm going."

* * *

The Apollo Cabin was golden. No, really, it was made of solid gold, and it was very, _very_ bright.

"How do they even sleep? I'm going blind just by looking at it!" Percy complained, holding his arms in front of his face to try and block out what felt like a continuous camera flash directly in front of him.

The Apollo campers didn't seem to mind the intense light, as they were easily walking to and fro with no care for the miniature sun that they lived in. The blonde hair they all seemed to share looked almost white with all the light reflecting off it, making things worse for any other camper in the area.

"I don't know honestly, never really thought about it," Katie told him while mimicking his actions. Even after years of going to camp she still wasn't very used to the sun god's cabin, and didn't think she'd ever be. "Come on, I try not to look at it as much as possible, or else I'd burn out my eyes."

As they walked, Percy noticed several campers turning to look at him. Some looked confused, some looked slightly jealous, but most had an expression he couldn't believe was directed at him of all people.

Admiration.

What had he done to deserve this? _'I just got here today,'_ he thought, '_unless... Beckendorf must've told them about the Minotaur. But that can't be it, right? It couldn't of been that big of a deal if someone with no skill or training killed it.'_

At least Katie hadn't noticed, or she thought that everyone was staring at him because he was new. He didn't really know how to deal with it yet, and was hoping it didn't come up any time soon.

The two kept walking until they reached the Artemis cabin, which seemed to be solid silver, a contrast to the gold plated flash bomb next door. It was decorated with pictures of animals, most of them being the stag.

"Not hard to figure out which this one's for," Percy muttered.

Katie nodded. "Yeah, it also shines at nighttime, just not as much as Apollo's." Almost as an afterthought, she also said, "and don't go in, it's bad enough to take up her space, but since you're a boy it would not end well."

Percy remembered what Chiron said about Artemis and jackapoles.

"No worries there," he said quickly. "Lets keep going, I'd rather stay away from this one as much as possible."

Katie smirked at him. "What?" she asked jokingly, "scared of being turned into an animal? I'm sure you'd get used to it."

Percy met her smirk with his own. "Look who's talking. You still need a bath by the way."

Katie rolled her eyes and walked toward the brick cabin filled with smokestacks and the sound of steel hitting steel. "The Hephaestus cabin," she presented.

Something at the back of his mind told him to hide behind something. All the Hephaestus campers were at least twice as big as he was, hammering away at a sword or a piece of armor. Some seemed to be tinkering with small machinery, and gods knew how they managed it with such big hands.

"The place were Beckendorf lives," Percy observed, mostly to himself, though Katie heard him.

"You know Beckendorf?" she asked.

Percy just nodded his head, checking out the cabin-turned-forge that his first friend lived in. "He's the one who brought me to camp. You think he's here?" he asked.

Katie shook her head. "I haven't seen him all day, but he's probably with the group gathering supplies for the forges."

Percy sighed, a bit disappointed at not being able to see the one who introduced him to the world of gods.

Katie seemed to notice this. "Come on," she said, pulling on his sleeve as she half-led, half-dragged him to the next cabin.

Percy smelled it before seeing it. Perfume hung thick in the air, and when he looked up he couldn't help but gawk at what he could only assume was the Aphrodite cabin.

It looked like a life-sized dollhouse, complete with elegantly painted grey walls, checkerboard deck, blue roof, and marble pillars. The Aphrodite kids were also easy to see, especially since they seemed to like showing off to the other campers. They looked like supermodels out of a magazine, dressed in designer clothing and sporting popular hairdos.

"I kinda feel like crap now," he told Katie, eyes glued to some of the girls that had noticed him and were now waving and blowing kisses. He was about to wave back, when Katie resumed her dragging until they were out of sight.

"I know what you mean," she told him after he snapped out of his slight trance, her voice a bit more subdued than before. "It's almost unfair that I have to pass through it on my way back to my own cabin, especially after working on the fields. Even the biggest ego can take a blow after a visit to the Aphrodite cabin."

Percy could tell they were heading towards a touchy subject. Before she could get depressed, he tried to reassure the blonde.

"Hey, I think it's worth it! I mean, uh..." The young demigod scratched his cheek, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make him look like an idiot. "Um... I mean that, you're not afraid to get dirty when you need to, and... and that can actually be useful at some point... er..."

Before he could continue his failure at complimenting his new friend, she laughed, shoving him lightly on the arm and holding her stomach. Percy blushed slightly, thinking that he _had_ made a fool of himself. A few campers glanced their way when they heard the bellowing laughter of Katie Gardner, only to shrug and walk away, figuring it wasn't too important.

After a few more moments, Katie stopped and looked at him with the biggest grin he'd seen from her all day. "I get it you dork. Thanks, I didn't mean to get all insecure like that."

Percy let out a sigh of relief. So he hadn't messed up. Or he had, and that's why she was thanking him? Girls were weird.

Smile still in place, Katie motioned for him to follow her, already on her way to a cabin lined with grapevines. "Lets get going, we still have a long way to go before we're done."

Percy decided it didn't matter what he had done, just that he'd done it, and followed her with a grin of his own.

* * *

"So lets review. What did you learn today?"

Percy rolled his eyes at Katie's question.

"Sorry," he said, not really sorry at all, "I didn't know I'd be tested... Ms. Gardner."

Katie gave him a mock glare. "Come on Percy! What was the point of today if you didn't learn anything?"

After finally finishing the tour, going through all the cabins and other camp locations, the pair were heading to the Hermes cabin so Percy could get himself set up and ready for dinner. Katie would then go and finally take a shower after spending an entire day walking around in muddy clothes.

"Alright," he relented. "You're really bossy, you know that?"

Katie just hummed in response, having heard the comment before.

Percy started ticking off with his fingers. "Hermes gets all the campers that aren't claimed or that are from minor gods. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at 8am, 12:30pm, and 6pm respectively. Never go into the Artemis, Hera, Zeus, or Poseidon cabin, or face an unfortunate fate. Be careful with your personal belongings in the Hermes cabin, especially around the Stolls," he ignored the low growl that followed that statement, "Ares campers are mostly assholes, but good at fights, so don't piss them off until you can defend yourself. Always give an offering to the gods during mealtimes. Listen to your instructors, and don't go wandering into the forest, or else. That good enough for you?"

Katie just nodded appreciatively. "I'm glad I didn't have to repeat myself. You have a pretty good memory considering you barely payed attention to what I actually wanted to talk about and interrupted me constantly."

Percy rubbed his cheek. "Yeah well, I'm not good with long lectures."

Katie scoffed at him, shaking her head. "I'll never know how someone so inattentive could beat the monster of the Labyrinth."

Percy just shrugged his shoulders. "Me neither," he told her with a grin, making her chuckle a bit.

Katie had been showing him the climbing wall (which he thought was a bit too extreme; lava? Really?) when a camper finally mustered up the courage to ask him if he'd really finished off the Minotaur.

He hadn't really wanted Katie to know about it, but when he saw that she didn't care he just said that he'd been lucky and left it at that. Afterwards, she asked him how he'd done it, and he showed her his sword and told her about earlier that day. _'__It's only been a few hours since I took my history test, but it feels like years.'_

Percy was cut off from his thoughts when someone roughly grabbed his arm. He looked up to see an Ares camper he'd spotted hanging around the sword arena earlier, backed by two of her siblings, one of which was holding Katie, stopping her from trying anything violent.

The camper holding him was a tall girl with dirty blonde hair and sneering, pig-like eyes. She looked as strong as anyone from the Hephaestus cabin, but was obviously a fighter with all the weapons strapped across her chest and around her waist.

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here," she mocked, bringing in a crowd of several campers who didn't seem like they were about to jump in his defense. _'Some heroes they are,'_ Percy thought with both anger and disappointment.

The girl continued with a voice full of contempt, "The great Minotaur Killer, Percy Jackson!"

Katie glared at the bigger girl. "Let him go Clarisse!"

Even in his current situation, Percy allowed a small smile to play at his lips. '_At least someone's on my side.'_

Clarisse though, scoffed at Katie's command. "Shut it Flower Girl." She turned back to him, smiling cruelly. "He's new, and you know what we do to new campers."

Clarisse then effortlessly dragged him towards the bathroom, the crowd parting to clear her way. Percy looked back at Katie, who seemed to be struggling with her captor, and gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster. He didn't see if it did anything or not, because he then got right to glaring at the crowd of campers that had surrounded the confrontation.

Some seemed ashamed and somewhat apologetic, while others only looked on in mild interest. Before he could say anything to try to make them feel worse about themselves, the helpless demigod was pushed through the door of the bathroom, Clarisse looking back at the Ares camper who hadn't taken hold of Katie.

"Make sure no one gets in," she told him, and he nodded before turning back to face the dispersing crowd, who seemed to lose interest as the action was moved out of sight.

Clarisse shoved him through a stall, where she then grabbed the back of his head through his hair and got him on a kneeling position in front of the toilet. "Get ready for a face full of toilet water, pipsqueak," she announced gleefully.

Percy was in full panic mode at this point. _'I am **not** putting my face in there, no way!'_ he thought. _'Think Percy! What can you do here? I can't take out Riptide, not that I'd be able to beat her even if I could, so what else do I have?'_

He thought back, trying to think of anything that could save him. When answer hit him, it was so obvious he would've palmed his face if his arms weren't desperately working against Clarisse's attempts to splash his head. _'Duh, my powers! Demigods can use their powers, so I could probably control mine if I tried hard enough.'_

His arms were shaking at this point, the pressure from Clarisse's weight pushing him into the toilet too strong for him to take any longer. The young demigod looked at the toilet seat that was currently opened. _'Nothing like a good motivator...'_

He thought back to all the times he'd ever used his powers accidentally, tried to remember the feeling of making things move without touching them. He imagined taking the toilet seat and throwing it hard at Clarisse, his focus so great he briefly forgot about the strain of his arms, or how close his head was to the dirty water.

Finally, with a tremble, the toilet seat flew off its hinges, over his head and straight into Clarisse's face, breaking her nose with a trail of blood. Percy quickly stood back up and twisted himself to stand behind the daughter of Ares, who was now kneeling and cradling her broken nose, the shock from the sudden hit stunning her.

With their positions now reversed, Percy smirked before using his foot to shove Clarisse's face into the toilet and then pressing the flush. "Payback's a bitch don't 'cha think?" he mocked, almost laughing out loud.

Outside, Katie and the two Ares cabin members heard the distinct sound of a flushing toilet. The daughter of Demeter paled, and the two bullies grinned at each other before going inside to check out the results.

Percy heard them come in, and quickly picked up the toilet seat laying on the floor before throwing it at one of the goons, hitting him right in the head and knocking him unconscious.

The other guy was so surprised that he didn't move until Percy rushed at him and kicked him right in the nuts, making him groan in pain and cradle his family jewels as he fell onto his knees.

Before Clarisse or any of the others could stand back up, Percy went out of the bathroom and closed the door. Looking around, Percy found a stack of retractable wooden chairs leaning against the wall of the bathroom. He quickly went to take one and placed it under the handle of the door, locking the three siblings inside.

"Percy?"

Said boy looked over at a very confused Katie, who was checking him for any injuries. Finally, she stopped in front if him. "What happened in there?" she asked.

Percy scratched his cheek, laughing nervously. "Uh, I guess you could say Clarisse and her goons were... _wiped out,_" he said with wagging eyebrows.

Katie just stared at him, a full deadpan expression on her face. "Please don't tell me that was a one liner."

Percy smirked a bit. "Yeah, my first one. I think I'm gonna like this hero business if I get to do that after every fight."

Katie just rubbed her forehead, though a small smile could be seen on her lips. "Ugh, you're a huge headache, you know that? Your first day here and you already got into trouble."

Percy grinned sheepishly. "Yeah," he said. "Maybe it was a one-time thing?"

Katie looked at him exasperatedly. "We can only hope. Lets go, it's almost dinner time and I really need a shower."

* * *

Percy followed the rest of the Hermes cabin up to the Dining Pavilion, led by the councilor Luke Castellan. He was an older camper, about eighteen or so, with sandy blonde hair and a scar over his left eye.

After hearing about him from Beckendorf, he thought the son of Hermes might've been angry or depressed from being the reason no one got any quests anymore. It turned out he was a pretty cool guy, though he was obviously a bit miffed about the whole thing.

Apparently, Luke was the best swordsman in three hundred years, and he was the one who trained people in swordsmanship. Percy couldn't wait for his first lesson, because honestly all the fights he'd been on up to that point had been won through a combination of surprise, dirty tricks, and sheer luck.

The large group finally reached the Dining Pavilion, which had several tables surrounding a bonfire, one table per cabin. Mr. D sat on his own table, with Chiron, his children and a bunch of satyrs.

Percy couldn't help but think of how lucky the Dionysus campers were, being allowed to eat with their godly parent three times a day, and they must've realized the same thing, as they were both making the best out of it.

The Hermes group sat down in their own table, where Percy felt a bit cramped, just like the cabin itself.

Chiron raised his goblet. "To the gods!" He announced.

"To the gods!" Said everyone else, and dinner had officially began.

Wood nymphs went around and served the food, consisting of BBQ, some fruits (including grapes), cheese, and bread. Percy looked over at his goblet, which was empty, but he'd heard about this from Katie.

"Orange Fanta," he said, and the goblet magically filled up with the orange soda. He was about to dig in, but remembered what his plant-loving friend had said about giving offerings to the gods.

Everyone stood up and formed a line in front of the sizable bonfire, and each camper started to burn a portion of their food to the gods. Most offered their food to their respective parent, and with his own turn imminent, Percy realized that he hadn't really thought about his parent.

He hadn't been claimed yet, and he knew that many campers never were, the Hermes cabin being a good example of that. The thought of never being claimed depressed him a little, but Percy didn't let it get to him. He'd lived his entire life without any parents, and had already cried enough about it when he was a kid.

"To mom... or dad i guess, whoever you are," he murmured, splitting a part of his food and dropping it on the bonfire. The odd smoke that came out didn't do much to assure him that they got the message, but he walked back to the Hermes table and sat down.

Percy looked around, watching everyone eat their food and enjoy the company of their friends. He spotted Beckendorf, who looked like he was just listening to what his cabin mates were talking about, nodding every once in a while, and occasionally saying something that everyone would stop talking to listen to. Katie was in a pretty deep discussion about something with one of her sisters, though Percy couldn't really hear from across the pavilion.

Even Clarisse seemed to be having a good time with the rest of the Ares cabin, something he perceived as a good sign. Maybe she'd gotten over the whole 'broken nose and locked in a bathroom thing'?

The daughter of Ares must've felt him looking at her, because when she turned around, nose full of bandages, she gave him the most hateful glare he'd ever seen in his life. Percy felt like someone had just marked him for dead, and a shiver went down his spine.

First day of camp and he already had someone out to kill him. Great.

He averted his eyes and decided to talk to his own cabin mates. For the rest of the dinner Percy actually had fun. The food was great, as was the company.

The Stolls were hilarious. The young demigod didn't know why Katie seemed to loath their existence, besides the fact that he had to keep a very careful eye on his belongings. Not that he had very much to begin with, just his unstealable sword, his backpack full of school supplies, and a few clothes from the camp store, which Katie was nice enough to get him a discount on.

When everyone was just about done, Chiron stomped his hoof and all the campers went silent. Mr. D stood up with an annoyed look and began speaking.

"I just need to say that capture-the-flag is this Friday, Cabin number five still has possession of the laurels."

The Ares cabin gave a loud cheer that made everyone else cringe.

Chiron coughed at Mr. D, giving him a meaningful look while the camp director became more annoyed. He sighed before continuing.

"And I'd also like to welcome the new camper Peter Johansen-"

Chiron shot Mr. D a stern look.

"I mean, Percy Jackson. Now go to your campfire songs, I've got things to do."

The campers gave a loud cheer and left the pavilion, heading to the amphitheater where they all sat down in a circle and sung campfire songs with the Apollo cabin.

Percy felt pretty good sitting next to his new friends, eating s'mores and joking around. He already liked it here, and when the campers all went back to their cabins, he slept with a smile on his face, glad to have found a new home.

* * *

**AN:**

**One more down. Sorry if it seems too slow, but I honestly just wanted to flesh out the characters, and that's actually what I'm going to do next chapter too, though there will be more action involved.**

**I honestly just had a blast writing this one. Character development can be pretty fun when you put your mind to it, but next chapter is when the story starts picking up!**

**'Till next time!**

**:D**

**UPDATE 9/4/13: So I just fixed all the typos, and I'm honestly surprised I missed them all the first time I wrote this. Sorry to everyone who read this chapter beforehand, because seriously, that was just too much.**


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Percy Jackson, obviously, or else I wouldn't be writing fan fiction instead of the real thing.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Path to Greatness**

"Alright everyone! Time to wake up!"

Percy grumbled into his sleeping bag. He would've asked for a few more minutes of sleep, but it seemed like too much effort.

"Come on! Move, move move!"

Loud clapping followed Luke's last morning call. After a few seconds, Percy decided it was too obnoxious to ignore and sat up, stretching out his arms and giving a large yawn.

He cringed when he heard all the popping from his muscles, and was already dreading having to sleep in the Hermes lodgings for the rest of the summer. There weren't many beds, and they were all reserved for the senior campers. All the 'squirts' had to use the sleeping bags provided by the camp, which were all laid side-by-side to provide more room to the cramped cabin.

"Everyone head towards the showers, and then the pavilion for breakfast! Let's go, there's no time to rest!"

Percy snorted. It was easy for someone who slept in a comfy bed to be up and ready at eight in the morning.

"Come on Luke, just five more minutes!" shouted a camper who slept on said comfy beds.

Well, it was _supposed_ to be easy.

As he was heading out of the cabin, Luke stopped Percy and waited for everyone else to get out before speaking. "Listen, Percy," he started, "after you're done with breakfast, I need you to meet up with a tutor on Ancient Greek instead of following everyone else to sword training."

Percy was confused, and a little put out. He'd wanted to actually learn how to use his sword and now Luke was telling him that he couldn't train with everyone else. "But why?" he asked, a little resentfully.

Luke held his hands out. "Don't worry, I'll still teach you about fighting, but since you're a new camper you need to learn how to speak the language. Everyone does it, and it'll only be for an hour a day."

Percy nodded with relief. "So when are you gonna teach me then?" he asked.

Luke smirked a bit. "Oh, I'll teach you later, at 3:30 pm. Alone."

Percy beamed at his councilor. "Alone? Why me?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "You just seem like you could be really good, and you're new, so you'll need more help than the others. I'll see you in a few hours alright?"

Percy nodded enthusiastically. He'd be getting training from the best sword fighter in centuries, _alone_. It was like an apprenticeship, except that it was only a few hours a day... not counting weekends. Hopefully he'd get decent enough before the capture-the-flag game on Friday. Then again, he had something else to work on that might give him an edge...

* * *

Breakfast had been fairly dull, not that Percy didn't enjoy it. Hanging out with his cabin-mates and eating a healthy serving of cereal and apples (provided, of course, by the Demeter cabin) was a great to spend his morning, but after all the excitement from the day before, it was decidedly uneventful.

The young demigod smiled to himself. Uneventful was exactly what he wanted, especially seeing as hjihadis just got there the day before.

He was heading to the meeting place Luke gave him, but was interrupted by Katie's appearance on his left.

"Percy," she said with a satisfied grin, "I got it."

Percy stopped walking and gave her his full attention. "Really? So, what'd ya' find?"

Katie's grin widened. "Well, I looked around a bit, and found out that what you have hasn't been seen or heard of in any demigod in history."

Percy's spirits fell. "Well what's so great about that?" he asked hotly.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Calm down, I'm not done yet. It turns out that there have been mortals with your powers, not demigods. The things you can do are most likely a type of Psychokinesis."

Percy looked at her with a bland expression, blinking a few times, and the daughter of Demeter scoffed.

"Really?" she asked, annoyance slipping into her voice. "Don't you know anything? Hmph. Well, Psychokinesis is the ability to move stuff with your mind. More specifically, you can move _atoms_."

Percy looked at her weirdly. "So I can move atoms, and your point is..."

"Percy!" Katie almost shouted. "I'm not a child of Athena, but even _I_ know that moving atoms is a big deal! _Everything_ is made up of atoms. You probably have the most powerful ability ever!"

Percy nodded, a little embarrassed at having missed something so apparently obvious. "So you're saying I can move atoms with my mind. Wonder what I can do with that... You think I can just control people and stuff?"

The demigoddess shook her head at his underwhelming reaction. "We'll talk about it later okay? I have archery class now."

Percy nodded and watched her leave, wondering how she'd been able to deduce his powers in one day when he couldn't do it in twelve years.

* * *

Percy found his designated table a few minutes after his encounter with Katie. He made his way to his seat, nervously glancing at his new tutor.

She looked around his age, with blonde hair and the grey eyes that every child of Athena seemed to share. She was sitting on the other side of the table, a stern and slightly peeved expression on her pretty face.

"You're late." she said flatly the moment he sat down on his seat.

Percy chuckled sheepishly, scratching his cheek and dropping his bag with his other hand. "Sorry about that," he apologized, "I was talking to someone about something pretty important."

She didn't seem impressed with his excuse, and he wasn't expecting her to be. It was a pretty bad excuse.

"Anyway," he said quickly, "my name's Percy Jackson-"

"I know what your name is," she interrupted, to Percy's annoyance, "everyone does. Minotaur remember?"

Percy fought the urge to sigh in exasperation. Seriously, people were making that out to be such a big deal, and he was sure at least half the people in camp could do the same, and more efficiently.

Not aware of his thoughts, the blonde continued. "My name is Annabeth Chase, and I'll be tutoring you in the Ancient Greek language."

Percy nodded. She was a little harsh, but he couldn't blame her. After all, she was probably as exited about this as he was.

"I don't get it though," he said "I already know how to read it and stuff. It's in our blood right?"

Annabeth sighed. "Yes, but just because you can translate the words doesn't mean you can speak it properly. Every language has its own grammar, and this is no different. Now let's get started."

And so began the most boring hour of Percy's life. He tried paying attention at first, but after almost falling asleep he just decided to think about what Katie had told him. If he could control anything with his mind, could he just fling cars around and control people? Did he even want such an ability? It sounded a little evil to turn living beings into puppets.

"Percy," a frustrated voice called.

The psychokinetic was brought back to the world only to see a very annoyed daughter of Athena glaring at him.

"Are you listening?" she asked.

"Yeah, you were saying how the term 'am' could be used in two other forms than what we're used to in English," Percy replied without missing a beat, at the same time wondering if his multitasking abilities were related to his powers.

Annabeth blinked in surprise before rubbing the bridge of her nose. Percy gulpedregretting a sudden, survivalistic urge to calm her down somehow before she went all 'female fury' on him. He tried thinking of something to distract her with, but then remembered that she was one of the few people who could answer his questions.

"Hey," he began, trying to sound as uninterested about his own words as possible, "hypothetically speaking, if I were able to, say, move atoms with my mind, how would that affect other people?"

Hey, she was a daughter of the wisdom goddess. If she didn't know, who did?

Annabeth was caught off guard by his seemingly random question, but after a few moments, narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Well, I guess that it wouldn't really affect people at all," she said, and then seeing the questioning look on Percy, she continued, "I mean that, since all the atoms in a person are being manipulated by the person themselves already, an intrusion like that would be blocked off instinctively. Hypothetically speaking of course." She added as an afterthought, wondering why her temporary student would ask something like that.

Percy didn't know whether to be dismayed or relieved. On one hand, he couldn't control people and make them do whatever he wanted, something that would've been awesome. On the other hand, he would've felt slightly tainted taking away someone's free will.

"What does it matter anyway?" Annabeth asked.

Percy hesitated, which made the blonde narrow her calculating eyes.

"Oh, uh... I was just curious y'know? It'd be a pretty cool power to have," he finally said.

Annabeth didn't look like she was buying it, but she dropped the subject and got back to Ancient Greek. Percy almost sighed in relief, but stopped himself before he arose any more suspicion. He didn't want it to get out that he might be the most powerful demigod ever, especially before he even learned how to use his own power.

* * *

With a satisfied smile and a full stomach, Percy made his way to the shore of the camp lake, where he and Katie had agreed to meet. They both had free time to do whatever they wanted after lunch, and it was going to be spent training their abilities.

The daughter of Demeter hadn't really wanted to spend her free time training, but the young demigod convinced her, saying that the reason she couldn't grow anything bigger than a cherry bush was because she never trained her own powers.

He sat down on the grass, under the shadow of a large tree and waited for his friend. After a couple of minutes, he quickly grew bored and decided to start on his own.

_'__Alright, start with something small,'_ Percy thought to himself. He looked around until he spotted a sizable pebble, only slightly bigger than his fingernail. He reached out and plucked it from it's place on the ground, holding it out in front of his face. The psychokinetic started to concentrate on the pebble like he did with the toilet seat the day before, imaging it flying up from his hand.

What he thought would be an easy exercise turned out to be a frustrating task. _'__Why can't I do it now?'_ he asked himself after several minutes of failure, seriously thinking of just throwing the pebble into the lake and being done with the whole thing.

"Percy? Why are you staring at a rock?"

The amused question made him lose his focus, and he gave Katie a glare over his shoulder. "I'm trying to concentrate," he growled.

Katie sat down next to him, leaning on the tree with her hands behind her head. She smirked at his frustration. "Having trouble?" she asked cheekily.

Percy sighed, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. "I'll get it eventually," he told her. "I just need to figure this out."

Katie stopped teasing her friend before he blew a gasket. "Maybe it's not just about concentrating. What were you doing that made you need to use your powers in the first place?"

Percy crossed his arms and leaned back against the tree, a contemplative look on his face. "I was getting manhandled by Clarisse. She was about to shove my head in a toilet so I hit her with the seat."

Katie chuckled at the thought. "Right," she said, holding her chin, "so you must've been pretty scared right?"

Percy held his chin up high. "Yeah right. I wasn't scared, just... nervous."

His plant-loving friend snorted. "Sure," she said sarcastically, "anyway, maybe you just need to feel, ah... 'nervous'," she made air quotes with her fingers, and Percy grunted, "to use your powers again."

Percy frowned at the her theory. "Nah, there has to be another way. I don't wanna have to be nervous just to lift a rock." He hummed in thought. "Hey, how do you use _your_ powers?"

Katie blinked at his question. "I guess I just, I don't know, ask the plant to grow."

Percy looked at her uncertainly. "You... ask the plants? Really? Do you have to say 'please'?"

Katie shoved his arm. "Not like that. It's more like... I can't just make them do what I want, because plants are living things too. I work with them, and we do it together."

Percy nodded, understanding what his friend was saying. "So you think that'll work for me? How am I supposed to work with a rock though?"

Katie shook her head. "I don't think it's like that. Your powers aren't demigod powers, so they would work another way."

Percy held his face with his hands, giving an aggravated sigh. He'd been so excited to finally start controlling his weird abilities and it seemed like it'd be impossible.

Katie suddenly sat up, glaring at something behind him. The young demigod turned to look at a couple of younger kids throwing their trash on the grass.

"Hey!" the daughter of Demeter shouted. "Pick that up right now!"

The kids stiffened at her call, and hurriedly picked up their discarded trash before running off towards the camp.

"Wow," Percy said after a few seconds, "I was just joking before, but you really _are_ bossy."

Katie turned her glare on him. "Well _someone_ has to take charge every once in a while. Some people just don't have any sense."

While his friend silently fumed, Percy got another idea. "Hey, that's it!" he shouted, hope blossoming in his heart.

It was so sudden that Katie almost fell over. "What!?" she asked after she righted herself.

"It isn't about concentrating, or working together, or any of that stuff!" Percy told her, "Before, I used my powers out of panic, but the truth is I was _telling_ the toilet seat to hit Clarisse in the face, just like you with those kids!"

Katie realized what he meant. "So you're saying you need to will the atoms to move," she stated, mostly to herself, though Percy nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, I've got it now for sure!" Percy whooped before holding out the pebble again.

Instead of just concentrating on the pebble like before, he used his intent to command it to levitate. After a few seconds of dead silence, both Katie and Percy gasped when the pebble started floating above Percy's hand.

"Yeah! I got it!" Percy said with a fist pump. He stared moving the pebble, having it fly around, doing loops and changing its momentum.

"Isn't it hard?" Katie asked, amazed at such an easy success.

Percy had a permanent victory smile on his face, eyes twinkling with wonder. "Nope! It's no problem at all! Let's try with something else."

Percy, pebble still floating, split his focus and started levitating five other pebbles, forming a ring in midair. The six pebbles started flying around as eccentrically as the first, looping around both the demigod's bodies, under their arms and over their heads.

Deciding it was too easy, Percy looked over at a medium sized boulder, about the size of his backpack. He focused his intent, and suddenly felt really tired. The pebbles dropped, and the boulder, only a few inches off the ground, thumped heavily back to Earth.

"Percy!" Katie's shrieked in surprise, "what happened? Are you okay?"

Percy nodded, noticing the sweat dripping down his forehead. "I'm alright," he said reassuringly, "I guess I just need a little more practice before I start flinging cars around."

Katie smiled at him, before her grin widened. "Hey, you still did it! A bit of hard work and you'll be creating chaos in no time!"

Percy returned her smile before sitting back down next to her. "Okay," he began, "that's enough of me, I can barely breathe. So, let's see what _you_ can do, huh?"

* * *

Percy strode into the empty clearing, looking around for any sign of his new teacher. Luke had told him to meet him there, but he couldn't find him anywhere. The restless student crossed his arms and started tapping his foot, periodically checking his wristwatch.

Suddenly, his instincts screamed at him to get out of the way, and good thing too, because not a second later a celestial bronze blade chopped down where he was standing. Percy looked up to his attacker, but he was wearing a hood and covered his face with a bandana and a pair of sunglasses. All he could tell was that he was hostile, big, and intimidating.

Percy took out and uncapped a pen, which transformed into his own bronze blade, Riptide. The attacker didn't let him do much more though, for the second Riptide weighted down on his hand, he struck.

Percy dodged a slash to his left, but was too late to avoid the kick to his gut. It left him breathless, and the attacker took the chance to slam him down on the ground. The attacker tried to stomp on his back, but Percy quickly rolled out of the way and shakily stood back up.

He threw a wild slash, but the attacker easily parried it and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, lifting him up with no apparent effort. Percy took another swing with his sword, but the attacker dropped his own sword and took hold of the younger boy's wrist, stopping Riptide from cutting into him.

The helpless demigod clawed at the iron-tight grip on his shirt, trying to pry it off, but it was no use. The attacker brought Percy's face to his, seemingly wanting to tell him something, but Percy took the chance to headbutt him with as much strength as he could.

The attacker gave a grunt of pain and dropped Percy, holding his forehead and backing away. Percy held his own forehead with both hands, groaning and looking for his sword. _'Never doing that again. No one wins with a headbutt,'_ he thought, picking up his blade and pointing it at the attacker, who now looked perfectly fine with his own weapon in hand.

Percy charged with an overhead swing, but the attacker chuckled and twisted out of the way, letting Percy pass through, and hit the back of the young demigod's head with the bunt of his sword. Percy dropped to the ground in pain, and couldn't help the fear that crept into him as the attacker pointed his sword at his throat.

Just when he thought it was all over, the anonymous attacker pulled his sword back and drove it into the ground. He then used his now free hands to take off his disguise and revealed the smirking face of Luke Castellan.

"L-Luke? Wh-What's going on?" Percy asked in surprise. He forgot all about the throbbing of his head, and stood up with some effort. The young demigod panted and took several deep breaths, looking at his councilor expectantly.

Luke didn't look like he broke a sweat, and responded jovially. "I just thought I'd test your reflexes, and I have to say they're pretty impressive, even for a demigod. I didn't hit you too hard did I?"

Percy tried to control his breathing, and stood as straight as he could. "Nah, I'm fine," he said. "So that was all a test? What's up with the disguise then?"

Luke smiled sheepishly. "I didn't want you to hold back just because it was me, so I though I'd see how you'd react to a life or death situation. Sorry."

Percy looked a little irritated at that, but waved him off. "It's alright, you're the teacher after all," he cocked his head to the side. "So, what now?"

Luke gave him a smile that sent shivers down his spine. "Oh Percy..." he said, "you could be really good with a sword, and the best way to train is by sparring! So, I'll teach you some moves, and then we'll see how you do, okay?"

Percy's eyes bugged out. Was Luke trying to kill him? The pain in his head and the burning on his wrist became all the more noticeable, and Percy didn't think it would get better for him anytime soon.

* * *

Percy limped into the camp forge, groaning and holding his bruised sword arm. White marble columns lined walls filled with soot, and the sound of metal hitting metal reverberated throughout he room.

Naturally, most of the campers inside were from the Hephaestus cabin, and they quickly noticed the new, suffering twelve-year-old slowly making his way inside. Beckendorf saw him right away, and quickly made his way to Percy's aching form.

"Perce!" he said worriedly, "You alright? What happened?"

Percy gave the large demigod a thumbs up. "Don't worry about me, I was just... training," he gave an involuntary shudder at the last word, "Anyway, I just wanted to check the place out. I didn't get to come inside yesterday."

Beckendorf nodded. "That's okay. Just because its mostly us Hephaestus campers here doesn't mean that no one else can come in." The older teen looked him over with a critical eye. "You sure you can walk?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Percy said, taking a few steps to quench Beckendorf's fears. "I'm a pretty fast healer y'know?"

What he didn't tell Beckendorf was that he was using his powers to help his left foot take the weight of his body, something he'd learned to do not an hour before, when the shaking of his legs became too hindering to his spar against Luke, but no one had to know that.

Beckendorf seemed satisfied with that. "Follow me then," he told him, then started walking, a limping Percy following closely behind.

The son of Hephaestus showed him the entire forge, where they melted the metals, where they forged the weapons, and even this cool map they used to hunt down some robo-dragon or something, not that he was really paying attention.

Finally, at the end of the little tour, Percy asked for the entire reason he was there in the first place. "Hey Beck," he started, getting the large demigod's attention, "I was wondering, you think I can learn how to make a celestial bronze shield?"

Beckendorf raised a brow at his question. "There are plenty in the armory, why don't you check there?"

Percy shook his head. "I already did, but they're all too heavy and bulky. I need one that's light and perfectly round."

"Why?" Beckendor asked.

Percy just gave him a cheeky grin. "It's a secret. So, you think you can tell me?"

Beckendorf frowned thoughtfully. "Well... If you want it for capture-the-flag on Friday, it would take too long to teach you. How about this, I can just make you the shield and you pick it up before the game. I'll teach you all about forging later."

Percy's eyes widened. "You'd do that? Really?"

Beckendorf smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's no big deal. You'd probably just mess it up anyway. Blacksmiths need to be patient." Percy gave him a mock glare that he chuckled it off. "All I need is a design, so you think you can give it to me?"

Percy beamed and thanked his Hephaestus friend profusely. They both spent an hour talking about Percy's new shield, and when it was time for dinner, Percy couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

* * *

That night, Percy was restless. He couldn't understand why, but for some reason he felt as though something was seriously wrong. Dinner that evening had been just like the day before, joyful and fun. They'd gone to sing campfire songs again, and everything had been going great until Percy laid down on his sleeping bag.

He was afraid of falling asleep, like if something terrible would happen in his dreams, so he stayed awake, even when everyone else had hit the hay. He passed the time by levitating some pennies he found on the floor, making them fly in circles with a twirl of his index finger.

His eyes grew heavy, and he fought to stay awake, but even the hardness of the wooden cabin floor couldn't keep him from dozing off.

* * *

_Percy found himself in a desolate desert, not a sound to be heard and nothing to be seen for miles and miles. Suddenly, thunder boomed, and the clear skies were filled with violent winds and angry clouds. The noise was deafening, lightening furiously struck the ground and broke off chunks that seemed to disintegrate in the air. After a few tense seconds, a giant bald eagle dove down from the clouds and started flying around in circles._

_The earth quaked, and a large crack formed where he was standing. Percy quickly moved out of the way, and from the crevice emerged a giant, three-headed dog. The two monstrous animals started fighting, the eagle's disembodied voice saying something that sounded like "Give it back!" and the three-headed beast saying "YOU give it back!"_

_Whatever they were arguing about must've been pretty important, because Percy felt as if the very ground he walked on was going to break._

_Out of nowhere, the coldest, sickest feeling Percy had ever felt in his young life slammed into him. The feeling was so horrendous and so sudden that the young demigod fell over, landing on his hands and knees. Wide eyed, Percy heard the most powerful and absolutely evil voice he'd ever heard laugh with a glee that brought goosebumps._

_**"The Gods may play their games of fate, but nothing can stop me now! Go little demigod, discover your strength, save your precious world, for you can only delay the inevitable!"**_

_The feeling left, but the two great animals were still fighting as if nothing ever happened. The eagle dived at the dog, and the dog's three heads got ready to rip it to spreads._

_"Hey!" Percy screamed, but the howling winds, the cracking thunder, and the shaking earth was too loud, and when the two beasts met, the world around him shattered._

* * *

Percy woke up with a loud gasp. He sat up and looked around, but quickly noticed that there were no giant animals fighting to the death. He was back in his cabin, in the middle of the night, and thankfully no one woke up from his small outburst.

"It was a dream," he murmured to himself, "just a dream."

Sighing in relief, the young demigod stretched out his arms and gave a loud yawn. He laid back down on his sleeping bag, and with a quick prayer, fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**AN:**

**So that's chapter three, and more importantly, a basic explanation of Percy's powers. Even more importantly, I discovered scene breakers! Woo!**

**Hopefully Luke and Percy's scrap was good enough. Remember, this is my first story, and even if it wasn't very good, it's not like it was supposed to be some epic battle. Believe me, that's coming later.**

**And oh no! Percy had a dream! (*cough*foreshadowing*cough*). So yeah, wonder what happens next? **

**See ya next time!**

**:D**

**UPDATE 9/6/13: Jeez, I really need to start editing these things _bef_****_ore_ I release a new chapter. I blame autocorrect.**


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Percy Jackson, obviously, because if I did this story wouldn't exist. And I also don't own Disney, which should be even _more_ obvious. Why do I have to write this again?

* * *

**Chapter Four: Real Strength**

The day of the capture-the-flag game had finally come. Campers strutted around in full plated armor, carrying weapons and making strategies.

Percy made his way to the camp armory to pick up his own set of armor, and to retrieve the shield Beckendorf had promised. It was too bad that the shield was the only thing his friend could do for him today, as the Hephaestus cabin had allied itself with the Ares cabin, along with the Apollo and Dionysus cabins.

The Hermes and Demeter cabins had allied with the Athena campers, and the Aphrodite cabin had declared itself exempt from the game, something that Percy heard was the usual with them.

As Percy looked around inside the building, someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around only to be met with the giant mass of muscle that was his Hephaestus friend. He was fully equipped in bronze armor, making him look even more ferocious than usual, though the image was ruined by the gleeful smile on his scowling face.

"Hey Beck," Percy greeted, "so, you have it?"

With an uncharacteristic giggle, Beckendorf revealed the shield he had been hiding behind his back. It was perfectly round, with a bold outline and a diamond design molded right in the center.

Taking it in his hands and turning it around, Percy saw a metal strap fitted next to the handle, which had a button he could press with his thumb. The shield was made completely out of celestial bronze, though the outline and diamond center were highly concentrated, therefore both features took a darker hue than the rest of the body. It looked about the size of his back, and when he put it on, it fit snugly on his arm. Despite everything insinuating the contrary, it was surprisingly light, and Percy found he could freely move his arm without much effort.

"I couldn't make it shrink down into a watch or anything since it would've taken too long, but I managed to finish the quick release strap you requested," Beckendorf said with a proud gleam in his eyes.

"Beck..." Percy trailed off, not knowing what to say. No one had ever wasted so much of their free time for him before. It might not have been the most advanced shield ever made, but to him it looked like it was forged by Hephaestus himself.

"Thanks, for everything," he finally said, and he really meant it. Not only for the shield, but for introducing him to the world of gods, to Camp Half-Blood. Even then, Beckendorf could've just dropped him off at the front gates and forgotten about the new young demigod, but he had instead become one of his few friends.

The large demigod merely patted Percy on the shoulder. "No problem Perce," he told him, "that's what friends are for. Just don't forget," he suddenly looked as ferocious as his size deserved, "we're on opposite teams today, so don't think I'll be giving you any favors."

Percy smirked, dispelling his thoughts. "Heh, like I'll be needing any. I'd watch out if I were you, my team's gonna crush yours!"

Beckendorf gave a bellowing laugh. "Whatever you say, newbie," he said. "Go get armored up, you'll definitely need it."

With that, the son of Hephaestus strode out of the building, leaving Percy to look around the room for anything that might fit him. Finally, he found a size five set, and put it on.

After he was done, he considered the helmet for a second. It was bronze like everything else, but looked a little too big for him, not to mention the horendous design. _'As if I'd ever wear something like that,'_ he thought, and with that, he walked out of the camp armory, heading towards his team's meeting place.

* * *

The blue team encampment was filled with campers, tables, and the sound of clanking metal. Lost and confused, Percy resigned himself to walking around aimlessly until the game began.

"Percy!"

Said demigod turned around and saw his Ancient Greek tutor clanging her way through the mass of campers, a dagger at her hip and a Yankees cap on her hand.

"Oh, hey Cinderella," Percy said with a small smirk, "didn't think you were a big fan of baseball."

Annabeth glared at him before shaking her head with a sigh, making Percy's smirk widen. He'd discovered that annoying the daughter of Athena was really fun, enough to place fourth on his list of reasons he liked Camp Half-Blood. So after a lengthy and incredibly ridiculous argument about her princess curls (it made her look like a dumb blonde stereotype, and she was a daughter of wisdom!), Percy decided to call her by the names of various Disney princesses.

"I have a job for you," she said, not bothering to acknowledge his comment on her hat.

Percy let his smirk fade. She was the one in charge, and anything was better than sauntering around without a purpose. "Okay," he said resolutely, "what's up?"

Annabeth crossed her arms. "Follow me," she told him, and made her way to the main table. Orders had yet to be issued, and Percy hoped that whatever she needed him to do was important, especially since she sought him out personally. They wove through the crowd around the table, and Annabeth leaned down to take a closer look at the map. Percy stood next to her, waiting for the daughter of Athena to say something. Finally, she pointed to a spot on the map.

"See this creek over here?" she asked, prompting him to lean down and look.

"Yeah," he said, "I see it."

Annabeth nodded. "I need you to go there and defend it. It's pretty out of the way, and I heard that the other team will send someone around there to try and get the drop on us."

Percy stood straight. "Yeah, no problem," he said, "but is anyone going in with me?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, you're going at it alone. If they _do_ send anyone there it won't be any more than one or two people. Think you can handle it?"

Percy crossed his arms and smirked. "Of course I can handle it, those guys'll be toast before they even know I'm there!"

Annabeth smirked a bit too, but it was gone so fast that Percy passed it off as his imagination. "Okay," she said, "now go wait until it's time. I still need to give everyone their own orders."

Percy strode away, trying to play off his excitement at his own personal mission. He leaned against a nearby tree, waiting for the game to start. After a while, he felt something creeping up his legs, and the newbie camper shrieked and almost tumbled to the ground. He looked at his feet, and noticed long, thin roots sticking out of the ground and tying around his legs.

With an annoyed sigh, Percy shook off the roots and looked behind his shoulder, finding a grinning daughter of Demeter walking up to him.

"Very funny Katie," he told her. "I'm starting to wish I'd never helped you out with this stuff."

With a mischievous smile, Katie patted him on the shoulder and twirled her other hand, making the roots regress back into the ground.

"Well, you did, and now it's second nature," she chuckled out. "So, thanks!"

Hand on his chin, Percy looked her over in contemplation. "You know," he said, "I though you hated the Stolls, but I guess they must finally be rubbing off on you after all this time. It was a pretty small prank, but it was still a prank."

Katie's smile dropped, and she looked at her friend with narrowed eyes. "That's low Percy, really low."

Shrugging his shoulders, Percy remembered what he'd been so exited about, and the feeling quickly took hold. "Hey, guess what," he said, a satisfied smile on his lips.

Katie looked at him strangely. "What?" she asked.

"I just got a super important mission today. Can you believe that?"

Katie looked surprised for a second, but then scoffed. "You know what? No, I really can't."

Percy pouted. "Aw, c'mon! I swear, it's true! Annabeth just told me to go defend a creek at the edge of the map in case someone tried to sneak by, and I get to do it alone too! Isn't that awesome or what?"

Katie stared at him disbelievingly and palmed her face. _'That sounds more like she wants him out of the way,'_ she thought. The daughter of Demeter was about to tell him, but faltered after seeing his excitement. _'I don't want to burst his bubble though...'_

"Y'know what this means?" he asked her, and without waiting for an answer, said, "It means that I'm finally starting to be someone important! Yeah, I'm awesome!"

Katie shook her head exasperatedly and flicked his forehead. "Don't get an ego Percy," she told him, "Just be careful and don't be too reckless."

Percy rubbed his forehead with his index finger. "You're starting to sound like Chiron now," he said, "Please stop, we don't need another Frank Sinatra fan."

The two laughed, and not long after, the blue team was called out to receive their orders. Percy didn't pay attention, already having received his, and when that was done, both teams waited for Chiron to start the game.

"Everybody remember," the old centaur told them, "no maiming, no serious injuries, and please no killing. The last time it happened an unfortunate camper got turned into a toad, and believe me when I say it did not look like a particularly enjoyable experience. Now, are both teams ready?"

There was a chorus of nods, and after a few more moments, Chiron held the horn in front of his face and blew on it after taking a deep breath. Both teams scattered, and Percy ran into the foliage, heading to his designated area, grinning all the way.

* * *

Percy sat on the shore of the clearing he'd been guarding. A small creek flowed through the middle, symbolizing the division of the sides, and the line both teams had to cross with the opposing team's flag in hand.

The naive demigod had been waiting around for the better part of an hour, and with no enemies in sight, spent it trying to use his powers on the water. It was harder to use his abilities on liquids than on solids, because the atoms moved around a lot more on their own, but he'd been steadily improving, and was currently holding a small ball of water in his hands, trying to form it into different shapes.

"Damn!" Percy shouted, frustrated at the water dripping through his fingers. Every time he tried moving the water it felt like it was slipping on itself. How was he supposed to command something that refused to be commanded? With a sigh, he looked around the clearing, making sure no one was there, before holding his hand out and telling a small amount of water from the creek to float up to his palm.

He was about to retry the obnoxious exercise, when he heard a rustling on the other side of the creek. Quickly, he dashed towards his side of the forest and hid behind a tree, making sure to equip the shield that had been lying beside him.

"Are you sure this isn't cheating Clarisse?"

Percy's eyes widened, before a small grin formed on his lips. _'That's what I'm talking about!'_ he thought. _'Round two suckers!'_

"Of course it isn't against the rules!" Clarisse's boorish voice said. "There isn't any rule about _moving_ the flag. This way, no one'll take it from us, and we'll win for sure!"

Carefully, Percy looked around the tree and saw Clarisse flanked by two other guys, all walking across the creek. The daughter of Ares had a red flag in hand, and a spear in the other. _'Those cowards are taking their own flag,'_ he thought. '_How's anyone supposed to find it if it isn't where it's supposed to be?'_

Percy considered his options. He could go find someone from his team and tell them that Clarisse and her goons had moved their flag, or he could face them himself with no back-up, possibly assuring the victory of the red team. After a second of thinking, Percy decided that Annabeth had trusted _him_ to defend the creek, no one else, and he was going to make sure the blue team came out on top.

With a twirl of his wrist, several pebbles in the creek formed to make a bigger, but still unnoticable formation right in front of one of Clarisse's bodyguards. The guy tripped on it, face planting on the ground, and the sound distracted Clarisse and her other guard. With another quick twirl, Percy made the pebbles under the other goon's feet shift several inches, forcing him to lose his balance and fall down as well.

"What the Hades is wrong with you two?" Clarisse muttered, looking down at the ground for anything that might've caused her two buddies to fall so suddenly.

Percy smirked at that, and picked up a rock on the ground next to him. He then threw it across the clearing, augmenting its distance with his powers. None of his opponents saw the rock fly by, and when it hit a bush behind them, all of them jumped in surprise.

"Wh-What was that? Who's there?" Clarisse demanded, only to get silence as her answer. The other two campers picked themselves up, and all three stared at the direction of the rustling sound, watching for any enemies.

"You two," Clarisse finally said, "stay here, I'll go check it out. Here," she gave one of them the red flag, "you better not lose it, you hear me?"

The goon nodded, taking the flag and unsheathing his sword. Clarisse held her spear with both hands and moved into the forest, where Percy lost sight of her.

With the only real threat out of the way, Percy walked out of his hiding place. Taking advantage of his opponent's inattention, he twisted around, left arm stretched out, and pressed the button on the handle of his shield. Instantly, the metal strap released his arm, and the shield flew like a discus, aiming for the flag-bearer's head.

Using his powers, Percy increased his shield's velocity, and soon it was going at the speed of an arrow shot from an Apollo camper's bow. The moment the bronze disc's fortified edge crashed into his enemy's head, Percy willed it to bounce off into the other goon's as well, leaving two bent helmets on two different heads. He then held his hand out, and caught the shield's handle before re-pressing the button and having the metal strap reattach to his arm.

Both of his opponents dropped unconscious, and Percy couldn't contain the pleased grin that stretched across his face. Hastily, he went over to their unconscious bodies, and took the enemy flag. _'Wait 'till they see this!'_ he thought, and with the flag in hand, prepared to go back to camp and win the game.

That was, until Clarisse re-entered the clearing and saw her teammates lying unconscious on the ground with her hated enemy in a victory pose over their bodies.

"You! I'll kill you, Prissy!" she screamed, and charged at him with the rage of a thousand suns. Percy cursed himself, having just realized that clanging metal might attract some attention, and dropped the flag on the ground. He took out the pen in his pocket, uncapped it, and turned it into Riptide.

Clarisse jabbed at him with her spear, and Percy blocked accordingly. Unfortunately, the moment the spear crashed into his shield, Percy received a painful shock that had him yelp in surprise. The daughter of Ares laughed maliciously while Percy checked his arm for injuries. "You like my spear?" she mocked, "A gift from my father, isn't it great? I don't even have to hit your body to hurt you!"

Percy held his sword in a guarding position. "I thought there wasn't any maiming. What happened to that rule?"

Clarisse laughed even harder. "There's no one else here but you and me," she said, "Now stand still and let me skewer you!"

Clarisse jabbed again, and Percy barely dodged out of the way. He wasn't prepared for Clarisse to hit him across the face with the butt of her weapon, and the young demigod was knocked onto the ground. Clarisse put one foot on his back, and prepared to stab him through, but Percy hurriedly shifted the ground under her other foot and she tumbled onto the ground next to him. The young demigod used her confusion to his advantage, and quickly relieved the daughter of Ares of her helmet.

They both rolled away, and the instant Percy stood back up, he threw Clarisse's helmet right at her head. Clarisse, eyes widening at the speed at which her helmet was thrown, twisted her torso just in time to dodge it by a hair's breath. The helm crashed against the tree thirty yards behind her, leaving an indent on the wooden trunk.

The two fighters stood at the ready, weapons held out and adrenaline running through their bodies.

"How'd you do that?" Clarisse asked through gritted teeth, "The crazy strong throwing, the weird tripping, is that why my teammates fell over, because of you?"

Percy fixed her with a glare. "What do you take me for, some kind of idiot? I'm not telling you anything. I mean, what kind of hero reveals his abilities like that?"

'_Yeah, I'm not that stupid.'_ Percy thought.

-Flashback-

_"Damn it!" Percy shouted._

_Katie looked over at him from her spot on the grass, a small blueberry bush growing under her hands. "Screaming won't do anything you know," she told him, "Maybe you just need to take it easy for a while."_

_Percy glowered at her. "Easy for you to say," he said, "You don't need good aim to grow a plant." The frustrated demigod sighed. "You'd think that with powers like mine throwing a sword would be no problem."_

_Several yards in front of him, the tree in what had become their usual training ground was filled with cuts and nicks, though none were inside of the target he had carved into the wood. Percy summoned his sword back to his hand, and prepared to fling it again when he had a sudden thought._

_"Hey Katie, I was thinking... You think it'd be cool to shout out my moves like how they do on TV?"_

_Katie raised an eyebrow at his question. "What do you mean?"_

_"Like if I wanted to throw my sword and use my powers to summon it back, I'd shout something like 'Boomerang Throw!' and then do it."_

_Katie rubbed the base of her nose and sighed at her friend's naïveté. "You can be really stupid sometimes, you know that?"_

_Percy looked at her, confused. "What? What's wrong with that? I think it'd be pretty cool."_

_Katie shook her head. "No, Percy, it's not about looking cool, it's just common sense. If you shout out your moves before you do them then everyone'll know what to expect, and honestly the whole 'shouting-out-your-powers' thing is really pretentious. You're pretentious enough as it is."_

_Percy cocked his head. "Pretentious? What does that mean? How am I pretentious?"_

_Turning back to her blueberry bush, Katie shook her head and said, "Just don't start shouting out your moves, it's stupid and it'll get you killed one day."_

-Flashback-

"A-Anyway," Percy said, his attention back on the fight, "Bring it on! I don't care if you have some fancy spear, I'll beat you and bring the flag back to my team!"

Clarisse laughed. "You think you're good enough to beat me?" she chuckled, "Whatever Prissy, it's your grave."

The two campers squared off, looking each other over for any signs of weakness. Percy must've been breathing harder than he thought, because Clarisse suddenly charged at him again, ready to run him through. Percy sidestepped her spear and bashed it aside with his shield. He swung his sword diagonally, but the more experienced fighter ducked over his attack. Clarisse then jabbed at his stomach with the butt of her spear, and Percy had his breath knocked out of him, his armor not being able to defend against her brute strength.

The daughter of Ares stabbed at him once more, but Percy jumped out of the way. He finally managed to get his breathing under control, and engaged the larger girl in a flurry of slashes, stabs, and kicks. The young demigod made sure to dodge Clarisse's spear at all costs, sometimes having to sacrifice taking advantage of her few openings to do so.

Proud as she was, Clarisse was forced to admit that her opponent was giving her far more trouble than he should. He was somehow faster than her, and if the dent on the tree her helmet made meant anything, his strength was not to be underestimated. He had a relatively unpolished stance, one that left many openings, but his reflexes were so good it was like could see every one of her attacks coming before she even made them. As it was, the aggressive girl felt like her experience was the only thing allowing her to keep up.

Clarisse tried to hit him with an overhead strike, but Percy blocked her spear by the shaft. _'So the head's the only thing that can electrify me. Wish I'd known that.' _Percy thought, and then uppercuted his opponent right in the chin with the butt of his own weapon. _'It's time I finished this though. Let's see if this works!'_

As fast as he could, Percy forced several atoms in the air to condense and attached the concentrated mass to the sole of his boot. Twisting his body around, Percy kicked Clarisse right in the solar plexus, and the concentrated mass of atoms launched her several yards away with a repelling magnetic force. Not letting up on his offensive, the psychokinetic used his momentum to throw his shield up in the air, and used his powers to accelerate its decent.

The bronze shield slammed down on the daughter of Ares with enough strength to leave a Clarisse-shaped indentation on the ground. The disc then bounced off from her body and flew back to its owner. Percy caught the shield, and after a few moments of peace realized that he'd actually won.

Adrenaline leaving his body, it didn't take long for Percy to notice the numbness of his shield arm, or how his abdominal area felt like it was on fire, or how his cheek felt like it was stung by multiple bees. Shoulders sagging, the victorious demigod re-capped Riptide, picked up the red team's flag, and walked over to Clarisse's still form.

He looked her over, and was surprised to see her scowling at him. "Clarisse?" he asked incredulously, "How... How are you not unconscious after that?"

Clarisse snorted, but then winced in pain, her hand going to her chest. "I'm... tougher than st-steel Prissy, as if y-y-you could ever... knock me out." Clarisse hesitated, and her scowl deepened before she continued, "You... You beat me f-fair and square though... and that was a p-pretty good fight... so go win the g-g-game already. If you tell anyone about it though... I swear I'll..."

"I get it, I get it," Percy interrupted, a small grin on his face. "Don't tell me the great Clarisse, daughter of Ares is going soft on me now."

"Prissy!"

"Just kidding!" Percy said, trying to calm her down, especially seeing as how she didn't really need to exert herself right then. "Well... see ya around I guess. And Clarisse," here Percy gave her a true smile, "it was a good fight. You really are the toughest person I know."

Clarisse scoffed, though an almost unnoticeable blush could be seen on her face. "Whatever Prissy... just go get an Apollo kid... my chest hurts like a bitch."

Percy chuckled, and flag in hand, headed to his team's encampment.

* * *

When Percy finally saw sight of the blue team encampment, his whole team seemed to be arguing. With a start, Percy realized that it must've been hours after the game began, and felt slightly guilty about taking his time to get there.

Some campers must've seen him coming, or at least the flag high over his head. Soon, the whole mass of campers ran towards him, whooping and screaming in victory. Percy thought that he might get trampled, but instead he was hoisted up and carried to the main table, where they set him down to look on as he was celebrated by his whole team. Chiron sounded the horn, but it was drowned out by the chanting of his name.

Katie and Luke looked on with pride in their eyes, while Annabeth found it hard to take her jaw off the floor. Noticing this, Katie smirked at the other girl. "What's wrong Annabeth?" she teased. "Wasn't this part of your master plan?"

Annabeth shook her head, Katie's question having snapped her out of her daze. "I'll admit, I didn't see it coming. I thought he'd be too much trouble to deal with so I just put him somewhere where he couldn't interfere."

Luke chuckled, placing a hand on his old friend's shoulder. "You'll learn that underestimating Percy isn't very smart," he told her, then rubbed a spot on his arm. "Believe me, I've learned that the hard way."

Katie inwardly giggled at the blush on Annabeth's cheeks. She looked back at Percy, and couldn't help but notice how happy he was, raising the red team's flag like a trophy while all of the blue team clapped and cheered. _'Percy,'_ she thought, _'you still need some work, but you're really something special.'_ The daughter of Demeter then had another thought, and all her inner praise stopped cold on its tracks. _'Damn, his ego'll shoot sky high after this. I better double the effort on putting him down, maybe even get some other people involved,'_ she sighed. _'It's gonna be a rough few days...'_

* * *

Percy sat on a bench not far from the Hermes cabin. It had been a long day, and he felt more tired than he'd ever been in his life. He'd somehow managed to get an Apollo kid to go take care of Clarisse over all the chaos that followed his victory, and she'd turned up a few minutes later with only a few broken ribs.

After all the cheering and praising though, it didn't take long for Percy's mood to sour. Even after such a glorious victory, after beating Ares' best demigod one-on-one, he still hadn't been claimed.

'_What do I have to do?'_ he thought somberly. _'Maybe they really did forget about me after all.'_

"Hey Percy," said a voice to his left, and Percy turned to find Luke pointing at the space next to him. "You mind?" The older teen asked.

"Nah, it's okay," the psychokinetic said, and he felt almost relieved. Maybe Luke could distract him from his depressing mood.

"You seem pretty depressed about something. What's up?"

Or not.

"It's nothing, really," Percy said, but Luke only raised a brow and crossed his arms expectantly, leaning back and sitting in a relaxed position. "Fine," Percy said, "It's not that big of a deal, I'm just kinda put out that I didn't get claimed, even after all that, y'know?"

Luke closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "I know what you mean Perce, and don't worry, it's okay to be disappointed in the gods."

Percy furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Luke opened his eyes and stared off at the distance. "You aren't the only one who gets the short end of the stick Perce. Our cabin is a prime example of the gods' ignorance. Do you know that more than half of our cabin-mates aren't even demigods of Hermes? Everyone else has been forgotten just like you."

Percy closed his fists tightly, and scowled deeply. "Why though?" he asked, "Why can't the gods just remember? I mean, they're gods right? They should be able to at least do that."

Luke shook his head. "The gods may be immortal, but they're far from perfect. Even when you get claimed, it isn't much better. Sure, you know who birthed you, but it doesn't really mean anything. I've only seen my father twice, and one of those times was when I did my quest."

Luke seemed to get angry then. "They think they're so flawless, like they can never make any mistakes. The truth is, those damn Olympians make the most mistakes of all!"

Thunder boomed in the sky, and Percy nervously looked up, his frustration forgotten. The young demigod glanced at Luke. "That's some dangerous stuff, Luke," he said. "You should watch what you say, Chiron says that the gods don't take insults very well."

Luke took a deep breath and his shoulders relaxed. "Yeah I know, it just pisses me off sometimes, but the Olympians are the ones in charge. At least... for now."

Percy looked at his teacher weirdly, but before he could say anything, the call for dinner rang across the valley. "Come on," Luke said, standing up, "I'm sure you could use a good meal after the day that you've had."

Percy nodded, and side by side, the teacher and student walked to the dining pavilion, where they sat in the cramped Hermes table and dined on BBQ steak, bread, and fruits.

* * *

**AN:**

**After much procrastination, chapter four is finally done. So, I've been thinking, and I'm pretty sure that I can update this story at least once a week, maybe more if I get really inspired, but once a week sounds pretty good.**

**I think I did pretty well in the Percy vs Clarisse fight, especially since my Percy couldn't use some (admittedly) BS power up by touching water. Not that it's a bad thing in canon! I'm just saying! Please don't flame me!**

**So yeah, next chapter's probably when the quest starts, and believe me, it might be the same basic concept as in canon, but the journey'll be completely different.**

**'Till next time!**

**:D**

**UPDATE 9/7/13: I'm glad to say that this one didn't have as many mistakes, so instead I extended Percy vs Clarisse by a few more paragraphs. **

**By the way, the only reason Percy won was because he took Clarisse by surprise with his powers. If it wasn't because of that, her experience and knowledge would've outlasted his natural talent and reflexes. Not that he didn't win legitimately, because he did, but I'm just saying so that no one says I made him better than he should be. **


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Percy Jackson, obviously, or else I wouldn't be doing fan fiction instead of the real thing. I also don't own The Lord of the Rings. Again, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Weight of the World**

Thunder boomed outside, and Percy groaned as he looked up at the weather. Dark clouds gathered around the perimeter of the camp, leaving a gaping blue hole in an otherwise black sky. It had been a week since his victory in the capture-the-flag game, and during that time the recent storm seemed to only get worse and worse. He'd asked Chiron about it, but the old centaur had only told him that Mr. D would come back from Mt. Olympus with more information.

Eyes widening, Percy ducked his head as a celestial bronze sword nearly chopped it off. "Focus Percy, focus!" Luke said sternly, stabbing at his young apprentice. Percy berated himself for his fleeting attention, cursing his ADHD. Sidestepping Luke's lunge, the trainee stepped forward with a horizontal slash.

Luke hastily retreated, but Percy kept up the offensive. They continued sparring in the forest clearing for a few minutes, until Luke raised his free hand and called for a stop. The older teen sheathed his weapon and looked at Percy, who had unceremoniously crumpled on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Uh, Perce?" Luke said, holding out his hand to the exhausted demigod. "Need some help there, bud?"

Percy took his teacher's offered hand and, with a labored groan, pulled himself back up. He walked over to a tree and leaned on it, holding a spot on his arm that would surely bruise over. "Luke... d-do you r-really have to... b-beat me up every time we train? I'm p-pretty sure this is ch-child abuse." he said, wincing at the pain in his jaw.

Luke crossed his arms, a smirk on his face. The sword prodigy had some cuts here and there, but otherwise looked perfectly fine. "Hey, you agreed to it," he reminded Percy with a cheesy peace sign. "Plus, the best way to learn how to not get beat up is to _get_ beat up!"

Percy, instead of snorting or scoffing like usual, winced again. Luke frowned in concern. "Seriously though, you need any help getting back to the cabin? I could get a medic-"

"Don't worry... about it," Percy interrupted, standing straight on his feet and giving Luke a thumbs up. "You go on ahead... I'll be right there. I just need to c-catch my breath is all."

Luke rubbed his chin uncertainly. "Well... if you're sure..."

Percy smiled at him. "Y-Yeah, I'm sure. See ya later okay?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Luke turned around and started walking back to camp. "If you say so Perce," he said, and disappeared into the foliage.

Sighing, Percy sat down on the ground, leaning his back against a tree. He took off his shield and laid it next to him, then capped his sword, turning it into a pen that he put in his pocket. After a few moments, he finally got his breathing under control, but was still incredibly tired. The young demigod decided to close his eyes, finding the forest floor comfortable enough for a nap.

* * *

Percy woke up to the sound of snickering. He opened his eyes to find a strange, gnomish creature holding his shield with both its hands. His face twisted in confusion. "What... Hey!" Percy stood up, groaning at the soreness of his body. "Give that back you- you..."

The creature was small, only reaching up to his knees, and looked like a baby goblin from Lord of the Rings. Despite its height, it didn't seem to be having any trouble carrying his shield. Percy thought back to everything he'd learned about Greek mythology, and remembered Chiron teaching his class about dwarf-like creatures that stole stuff and pissed people off. "Kobalos... Give me back my shield you little bastard!"

The kobalos just snickered again, waving the bronze shield mockingly, and ran into the forest. Percy cursed himself for being stupid enough to sleep in the forest around camp and, as quickly as his body allowed, chased after the little creature. He may have been tired and injured, but the psychokinetic was still faster than the small gnome on its stumpy legs. When he got close enough to the kobalos, Percy dived for his shield, arms outstretched.

The short creature looked back, and yelped in surprise at Percy's daring move. Luckily for the kabolos, it was running straight at a tree, and the small dwarf climbed onto it with its clawed hands, holding the shield between its feet. Percy, not anticipating this, crashed face-first into the wooden trunk. Rubbing his nose, Percy glared up at the snickering creature. Huffing in frustration, the young demigod started climbing up the tree, wincing at every branch he got ahold of. "You better give me back my shield, 'cause when I get up there you'll be in a world of hurt, buddy!" he shouted, pulling himself up on another branch.

The kabolos seemed to contemplate his words, and after a few seconds decided to grant his request. So, with a mischievous grin, the little creature dropped the bronze shield right on Percy's head, making the young demigod slip and fall back down on the ground. With a final snicker, the kabolos jumped away, heading back to wherever it was it came from.

Percy groaned in pain, holding his head with one hand as he grasped his shield with the other. "Stupid little midget..." he muttered, picking himself up. He wondered how a creature like that managed to make it past the camp boundaries, and decided that it must've been considered too harmless to worry about.

With a start, Percy noticed that he was right at the border of the forest, and he could see the Big House just a few yards away. Strapping his shield securely onto his back, Percy walked back towards the camp, not wanting to be late for dinner.

As he walked past the Big House, Percy glanced into one of the windows and stopped when he saw Mr. D talking to Chiron in his office. The young demigod looked around, making sure no one was looking, and headed to the window as stealthily as he could. When he reached it, Percy sighed in relief that neither Mr. D nor Chiron had seen him. Back against the wooden wall, the psychokinetic then focused on using his powers to increase his hearing.

"So it _is_ Zeus. I would rather the storm be something else entirely, but I suppose it was too much to hope for," said the muffled voice of Chiron.

"Yes, well you know how he gets. It was a miracle that Poseidon and the others were able to keep him calm for as long as they did," the muffled voice of Mr. D replied, sounding weirdly serious compared to his usual annoyed tone.

'_Perfect,'_ thought Percy. _'Man, am I glad I learned how to do this.'_

-Flashback-

_"Percy, your powers are cool and everything, but why am I doing this again?"_

_Said boy grinned back at his plant-loving friend. "Because it's something completely new, and I need someone here in case I mess up and hurt myself."_

_Katie crossed her arms and leaned on one leg. "That's great Percy," she told him, "but I'm asking why __**I'm**__ here. Can't someone else drag your injured body back to camp?"_

_Percy scratched his cheek. "Yeah well, I haven't exactly told anyone else," he responded. "You're the only one I can trust with this."_

_Katie's eyes widened before she smiled slyly. "Oh Percy, I didn't know you felt that way."_

_If she was hoping for an embarrassed reaction, Katie was sorely disappointed. Instead, Percy only scoffed at her teasing. "Katie, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm like twelve years old. Girls may not have cooties anymore, but I don't think I've even begun puberty yet."_

_Katie pouted. "You're no fun."_

_Shrugging his shoulders, the young demigod led her to their usual 'training ground'. Once the two friends reached it, they both sat down, Katie leaning against the tree and Percy cross-legged in front of her._

_"So what's this about?" Katie inquired, curious at the supposed 'new thing' her unclaimed friend had brought her there to see._

_"Well," Percy began, "I've been reading-"_

_"You read!?"_

_"Hey!"_

_"What? How's that not surprising?"_

_"As I was saying," Percy continued, eyes closed in annoyance, "I've been reading some anatomy books from the Apollo cabin-"_

_"You stole them then? I knew those Hermes campers were a bad influence."_

_"It doesn't matter, and stop interrupting me already!" Percy huffed, completely missing the irony of the situation._

_"Alright, alright," Katie assured cheekily. "So, why have you been reading anatomy books?"_

_"Well, I had a thought yesterday," Percy said. "I thought that if I apparently couldn't use my powers on other people, maybe I could use them on myself. I tried it, and I could feel something, but I needed to know more about my body if I was gonna make it work."_

_"So?" Katie asked, now truly interested, "What were you able to do?"_

_"Well that's the thing, isn't it?" Percy asked with a smile. "In theory, I could augment my senses, and maybe even my muscles!"_

_Katie looked shocked, and Percy was pleased at her obvious surprise. Getting a reaction like that from someone who already knew about his powers was a welcome occurrence._

_"Since when do you have a vocabulary like that?"_

_"Aw c'mon!"_

-Flashback-

He had yet to reach the limits of this new sub-power, it had only been a week after all, but so far he could increase the potency of his senses at will. He tried to do the same for his muscles, but had almost passed out from the strain. Apparently, augmenting his muscles caused them to use up more calories than usual. The amount varied depending on how much stronger he wanted to get, but the difference was enough that Percy would need to eat much more than he usually did if he intended to regularly use the technique.

"Does the council know who took it in the first place?" Chiron asked Mr. D, unknowingly causing Percy to refocus on the task at hand.

"We've been suspecting Hades since the beginning, but the increased amount of monsters prowling the country has all but proved his guilt. Artemis and her hunters can barely keep the beasts controlled as it is, but now we'll surely need to send out campers to deal with at least some of them."

"You know how I feel about sending out campers..." Chiron trailed off, worry clear in his voice.

"Well then you'll surely hate that a quest must be issued to bring back my father's bolt."

"What!? But Lord Dionysus, if Hades _did_ steal the bolt, then that means-"

"The quest would bring them into the Underworld itself," Mr. D sighed. "It's dangerous, I know, and probably fruitless, but it must be done. We have to at least _try_, or else the world will be consumed by war. Not the mortal kind either, but a full out war between two of the most powerful gods. You surely know what that would entail."

There was a pause, and then Chiron finally let out a long, somber sigh. "Yes, I know. The end of the world as we know it, humanity most likely destroyed. I wish there was another way, but I suppose it can't be helped. Now we only need to decide who would lead it."

"Don't we have someone on the waiting list? You know the one."

"By the gods, but she's so young!"

"She is, but she is also the most intelligent of her cabin. If anyone can succeed, it'll be her."

There was a pause.

"Lord Dionysus," Chiron said, suddenly sounding somewhat amused, "is that praise I hear? For one of your campers?"

"I'm just stating facts you old horse," Mr. D responded, back to his usual lazy self. "Now hush, we wouldn't want our little eavesdropper to hear any more than he has to."

"I agree," Chiron said, and Percy could almost imagine the bemused smile on the centaur's face. "I think it's about time we had some privacy."

Percy gasped, and without another thought, ran off, almost tripping. He didn't turn back to see if the two millennia-old entities saw who was listening in on them, and instead focused on getting back to his cabin before Luke got worried.

'_Stupid!'_ he berated himself. How could he underestimate Mr. D, or even Chiron? The old centaur was incredibly experienced at _everything_, and Mr. D, while lazy and unpleasant, was still a god, and therefore practically omniscient.

Once he'd reached the Hermes cabin, Percy slammed the door open, frightening several of his cabin-mates.

"Percy!" Luke shouted, quickly walking over to the young demigod. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I.. uh..." Percy was at a loss for words. He'd just learned that the world might end, and frankly, causing a mass panic didn't really sound like a good idea. He tried thinking of something to say, and ultimately decided on the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm dirty as hell!"

With that, Percy shut the door close and rushed away, planning to take a long, long shower.

* * *

When dinner time came around, Percy sat down on his cramped table like every other day. The difference was, the young demigod seemed to be having a miniature panic attack. Several of his cabin-mates were looking at him strangely, remembering his weird behavior earlier in the evening, but thankfully seemed to know enough that they left him be.

Apparently, the apocalypse was coming, and for the first time in his young life, Percy had to deal with the fact that he was mortal. _'It can't be that bad...'_ he tried to reassure himself, _'I mean, I've had some good times... Like that one time when Aaron got the rest of the orphanage to stop talking to me for an entire week... or when I accidentally blasted our caretaker through a door and got grounded... or the time when I got detention because Ms. Shelly thought I cheated on my test...'_ Percy held his face with his hands.

'_Okay, so I don't have too many good memories, but at least I've had some great friends right? Lets see... There's Katie, obviously, Beck, Luke, and maybe Will Solace from the Apollo cabin, though I'm pretty sure he'll be pissed when he finds out I stole his books.'_ Percy groaned. _'Maybe Annabeth? Damn, I'm really stretching it here... So that makes what, like five people in twelve years?'_ Percy almost cried. _'Wow, my life sucks.'_

Percy was shaken out of his depressing thoughts when the camp was called to attention.

"Campers!" Chiron cried out. "If I could have your attention please!"

The various conversations throughout the pavilion fizzled out, and all eyes were on the old centaur as he prepared his coming speech.

"Mr. D came back today from an important meeting in Olympus, and he brings very dire news," he announced, and paused for all the campers to understand the gravity of the situation. "I'm sure you've all noticed the storm around Camp Half-Blood, and I'm also sure that many of you have figured out the cause. Several months ago, at the winter solstice summit on Mt. Olympus that some of you attended, Lord Zeus was robbed of his master bolt, the symbol of his power."

There were several gasps of surprise, and some campers seemed relieved to finally get answers. "So what now then?" someone asked, and there was a chorus of agreement.

"That's what I'll be telling you all," Chiron assured them. "For months now, the gods have suspected The Lord of the Dead for the crime, and Lord Zeus seems to have finally decided to take matters into his own hands. Now, we need not worry about the actions of the gods, only the two tasks we've been given."

The trainer of heroes paused, building up suspense, and Percy fought the urge to roll his eyes despite the situation. Chiron could be overly dramatic sometimes, and this was surely one of those times. It seemed to work, as Percy noticed a few campers fidgeting slightly and shuffle on their seats.

"Here is what we need to do," Chiron finally said, "There has been a recent resurgence of monsters. There are simply too many for the Hunters of Artemis to handle, so we've been ordered to help send them back to Tartarus. I will be sending out teams of campers starting tomorrow. Heroes, your training will finally be tested."

There was a cheer, and shortly after, the entire camp seemed to be jumping in excitement. Percy could understand, and actually felt a little relieved. Being stuck in a camp, training to fight monsters but never fighting monsters could get boring.

Chiron managed to calm the campers after a few minutes, and continued his announcement. "I'm sure you're all excited, but unfortunately not all of you will be participating in this..."

There was a loud 'boo' from nearly every camper, but Chiron wasn't finished.

"... because three of you will be going on a quest to retrieve Lord Zeus' master bolt."

Excitement quickly overtook the camp again, and soon everyone was curious as to who would go on such an epic-sounding quest, especially after such a long time with nobody going on quests.

"Luckily for us, there is a waiting list, and the quest leader, who will be picking his or her two companions, has already been decided. Annabeth Chase, will you accept this task?"

There was a mix of joyous cheers and jealous boos. Annabeth herself didn't seem shocked that she'd been picked, almost like she had been expecting it, but everyone's attention made her nervous nonetheless. The daughter of Athena stood, and took a few moments before speaking. Percy guessed she needed to plan out what to say. Athena always had a plan, after all.

"I accept!" she shouted confidently, "and I've already decided on my two companions!"

There was another cheer at her acceptance, and the moment she said that she already chose her companions, many campers started begging to be chosen. _'Idiots,'_ Percy thought, _'don't they know that they'll have to go to the Underworld? Who'd actually want to do something like that?'_

"I chose Grover Underwood and Luke Castellan as my companions!" Annabeth announced, and many campers groaned in disappointment. Luke, who was seating next to him, stood up in attention, as did a satyr sitting in Mr. D's table, though he did so somewhat nervously. That seemed to be the end of the whole ordeal, but Chiron spoke up before anyone stopped paying attention.

"Actually Annabeth," he said, "I'd like it if you choose someone else in Luke's stead."

"What?" Annabeth asked, slightly surprised that Chiron disagreed with her decision. "Why?"

"I need someone strong and experienced to lead the camper task force here," Chiron told her, almost apologetically, "I'm sorry Annabeth, but Luke is the only one I feel I can trust. I need you to pick somebody else."

This got the attention of most campers, and many restarted their attempts to get in the quest. Annabeth seemed troubled, and the chaos didn't help her get her head straight. Finally, Luke himself called out for attention.

"Hey! Everyone listen to me!" he shouted, and stood up. Almost instantly, the crowd of demigods quieted down. "The truth is, I agree with Chiron. Sorry Annabeth, but someone has to stay here and make sure everything turns out alright."

Annabeth looked at him, hurt in her eyes, but seemed to understand what he was saying.

"Luckily for all of you, I know someone who can take my place. If he goes, I can assure you that the quest will be victorious, and Zeus' master bolt will be returned. You see, for a few weeks now, I've had an apprentice..."

Percy paled. _'Luke, you bastard!'_ he thought, already knowing where this was going. He was about to protest, when Luke continued.

"I've taught him everything he knows, and I can already tell that he'll be a hell of a hero. I've never seen someone with so much natural talent, and the truth is that after a few more years, he might even be better than me. As it is, he's already the most powerful demigod I know, and I'm not just talking about his sword skills."

_'I'm that good? Really? Huh...'_ Percy thought, and suddenly, he was filled with confidence. If Luke, his idol, thought he could do it, then he'd do whatever it took to make him proud. The young demigod clenched his fists, anticipation building within him. He'd show Hades to put his world in danger...

"So who is it already?" someone asked, and the campers burst with a wave of questions.

Luke clasped Percy on the shoulder, and pulled him up, silencing the entire camp. Even Chiron and Mr. D looked surprised, at least to a certain extent.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

As one, everyone started complaining. Most were reluctant to put their lives on the hands of some newbie, even if he _did_ defeat the 'great' Minotaur, others were jealous that they didn't get picked, and some just straight up hated him. Annabeth in particular didn't seem very happy, but appeared to respect Luke's decision enough to not say so out loud. Katie's face was whiter than a sheet of paper, and Beckendorf was in full-out scowl mode.

All of a sudden, the sea of campers started parting, until Clarisse poked out and stood face to face with Percy. The crowd quieted, and Luke's grip on his shoulder tightened in preparation, but the daughter of Ares did something no one could've expected.

Astonishingly, she nodded once and turned around, facing the rest of the campers. "You all want to know what I think?" she asked. "I think that Luke's right," and as everyone got blown back by that bombshell, Clarisse walked up to stand beside Percy. "It's simple," she said, "this guy beat me in a fight, and if he can do that, there's no one here who stands a better chance than Jackson!"

After a revelation like that, no one could justify complaining against Percy's inclusion. It was pretty well known that Clarisse was amongst the camp's elite, and the most ruthless fighter they had. Anyone who could beat her in a one-on-one fight had to be incredibly strong, and to think that some new guy managed to do it spoke volumes of his skill and talent.

Clarisse didn't seem too happy to admit losing to him, but Percy appreciated what she'd done, and promised himself that he'd make it up to her eventually. Luke smiled proudly, and turned to a shocked Annabeth. "So?" he asked. "What do you say? If he's not good enough, no one is."

Annabeth could only nod her head, and Chiron gave Percy an incredibly guilty look, like he wanted to apologize for him getting on the quest, for bringing him to Camp Half-Blood, for getting him involved in all the hero business. The old centaur merely shook his head slowly, and spoke up.

"That would be acceptable," he finally said. "We must go get a prophesy from the Oracle now. If the quest-takers would follow me please."

Chiron began trotting to the Big House, with the satyr named Grover right on his heels (er, hooves). Annabeth quickly followed after the pair, and Percy did the same after a slight shove from Luke. After a few steps, he turned back to find Luke giving him a thumbs up, Clarisse pretending not to care, Katie with her hands clasped against her chest, and Beckendorf giving him a reassuring nod.

Percy smiled, and trailed after his new quest-mates. Sure, he was heading to what was arguably the worst place in the world, and would surely be facing certain death, but maybe his life wasn't too bad after all.

* * *

Percy sat on a sofa inside the Big House living room with Chiron and Grover, waiting for Annabeth to come down from the attic. There had been a deafening silence present ever since he sat down, and it hadn't taken long for the psychokinetic to grow bored with the lack of action. Minutes felt like hours, and his eyes grew heavy. Percy jumped awake when Annabeth walked into the room, looking noticeably paler than when she'd exited.

"So Annabeth?" Grover asked. "What's the prophesy? Is anyone gonna die? Are we going underground? Or fighting the Basilisk? Please tell me it's not the Basilisk-"

Percy decided to interrupt the satyr's rant. "Dude," he said, "calm down. We're probably not gonna fight the Basilisk," he paused. "We're going underground for sure though. _Really_ underground."

Grover looked like he was about to cry, which made Percy feel a little bad about assuring that his fears would come true.

"That's interesting Percy," Chiron spoke out, "how do you know you'll be going to an underground location?"

Percy stammered. "I... uh... well I dunno I just figured..."

Chiron chuckled slightly, but his amused expression shifted into a somber one. "The prophesy Annabeth?"

The daughter of Athena nodded, and cleared her throat.

_"The child of Athena will head out West,  
a hero's courage to put to the test._

_Chased by hunters with zealous glee,  
burdened with no chance to flee._

_The judgement of Death must one readily face  
for the symbol of strength for another to retake."_

There was a moment of silence where they absorbed the words. "Great," Percy finally stated, "so we finish the quest, but at least one of us gets screwed."

Grover started shivering after that, and Percy wondered why Annabeth decided to take someone so... cowardly to a quest for the fate of the world. Personal attachments could only count for so much.

"That's not necessarily true Percy," Chiron spoke, trying to calm Grover's mounting nervousness. "As you should know, prophesies are never clear until they are completed."

Percy just nodded. While Chiron was right about prophesies, this one in particular seemed pretty clear to him. A line like _'The judgement of Death must one readily face'_ didn't really leave much wiggle room. "I guess you're right," the young demigod said, more for Grover's sake than anything else. "What about the _hunters with zealous glee_? Hunters as in the Hunters of Artemis?"

Grover got a faraway look on his face. "Gods, I sure hope so..." he said dreamily. Percy chuckled, and even Annabeth gave a slight smile.

"Well I guess I'm gonna be hanging out with a pervert for the next few days," Percy teased, and Grover snapped back to reality.

"Wha-What!? No! It's not like that, really!" he shouted, blushing furiously.

"Sure Grover, whatever you say. Just, if we _do_ run into them, you might wanna keep your eyes up here," Percy pointed to his face, "instead of down-"

_"Blaa-ha-ha!"_ Grover said, and with that, the satyr looked away to hide his red face.

Percy laughed, as did Chiron and Annabeth. "Well anyway," Percy said, "when are we leaving, Ariel?"

Annabeth's cheeks flushed angrily, which was good because she really needed to get some color back on her face. "We'll leave tomorrow," she said as calmly as she could. "We need to deliver Zeus' master bolt before the summer solstice, and that's a week from now."

Percy stood up and stretched. "Well then I guess we better get some sleep then, huh?" he asked rhetorically, and headed to the front door. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." With a final wave, Percy left the Big House and walked to his cabin.

* * *

After a full night of sleep, Percy was as ready as he would ever be for a deadly quest. He put on his jeans and orange camp shirt, strapped his shield on his back, packed all his other clothes into his bag, and walked out of the cabin. Outside, there was a large group of campers waiting for him, Annabeth and Grover among them, both looking ready to travel. He strode over to them and together they said goodbye and hiked up the hill to Thalia's tree. When they got there, Annabeth and Grover were surprised to see that Chiron wasn't alone, and Percy just smiled at the sight of Katie and Luke.

The three quest-mates walked up to their fellow campers, and the daughter of Athena immediately hugged Luke. "C'mon Annabeth," the older teen said, "I'll see you later okay? You were born to lead, I know you can do it."

Annabeth just nodded and hesitantly backed away, a blush on her face. Luke then looked over at Grover. "Hey bud," he told him, "you keep these two in line alright? Can't accomplish anything if you fight amongst yourselves."

Grover nodded nervously, not looking very excited at the prospect of having to get between Annabeth and Percy if they decided to kill each other. Finally, Luke turned to Percy. "Perce," he said, and put his hand on the young demigod's shoulder. "I believe in you alright? You're the muscle here, so you take care of them okay?"

Percy nodded resolutely. "You got it Luke! I'll keep 'em safe for sure!"

Luke smiled at his student's determination. "By the way, Beckendorf couldn't be here because he got sent out with the first group of campers, but he told me that he knew you'd put his shield to good use."

Percy smiled, and Luke stepped away to look at all three of them. "I wish I could offer more help, but with the weather the way it is I don't think you could use my flying shoes very well."

Annabeth shook her head. "Don't worry Luke, we're as ready as we can be. It's enough that you came to wish us luck."

Percy rolled his eyes at Annabeth's lame comment. It wasn't hard to figure out that she had a crush on Luke. In fact, it was so easy that he actually questioned his teacher's intelligence. How could someone so smart and cool like Luke miss something so painfully obvious?

Luke walked back next to Chiron, and Katie stepped forward, holding a messenger bag in her hands. "Here," she said, handing it to Annabeth, "it's got some nectar and ambrosia, and some money too, just in case."

Annabeth took the bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Thanks," she told the other girl. Katie said goodbye to her and Grover, and finally she stepped in front of Percy. They stood there for a few moments, just staring at each other.

"C'mon Grover," Annabeth said awkwardly, "lets go say hi to Argus."

"Uh, yeah! I haven't seen him in a while!"

Chiron nodded. "I think I should go with you. Argus and I rarely talk anymore, it'd be good to catch up."

Luke started heading back to camp. "Yeah, well see you guys in a week!"

Before they knew it, Percy and Katie were alone. A few moments passed, and Percy started snickering. Katie followed his example, and soon they were both laughing loudly.

Once they calmed down, the daughter of Demeter crossed her arms. "You better come back in one piece Percy," she threatened, "it would suck if you saved the world and lost an arm in the process."

"Don't worry about me," Percy said cockily, "there's no monster in the world who could compare to my awesome!"

Katie flicked him on the forehead. "Stop being so arrogant already, it'll get you killed."

That comment sobered them up, and the silence that followed only dampened their spirits.

"Listen, Katie," Percy started, "I'll be alright, I promise. You said I'm the strongest demigod ever remember?"

Katie smiled despite the tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "Yeah, I know," she said, "just... be careful okay? Seriously, don't get into fights if you can avoid them."

Percy nodded solemnly, and found himself enveloped in a hug that he quickly returned. He felt like he had to say something, like this could be the last time he'd ever see her again and he'd hate himself if he didn't tell her something profound. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything, and when his friend let go of him he told her the only thing he could think of.

"You're the best friend I've ever had."

It was cheesy and incredibly lame, but Katie just smiled warmly at him and began heading back to camp. He stared after her, and after some time, decided he'd kept the others waiting long enough.

The psychokinetic made his way to the white SUV, where his quest would begin, and could only think of Katie, Luke, and Camp Half-Blood. There was no way he would let the world end, and as selfish as it was, he suddenly wasn't doing it for the greater good, or because it was the right thing to do. He was doing it for his friends and his home, and that's all he really needed.

* * *

**AN:**

**Boom, another chapter down, several more to go. **

**And now were're really getting into it, as the quest for the bolt begins! Don't worry, this won't just be a copy-paste of canon with a psychokinetic Percy. Believe me, I have a completely different journey for our heroes to face, and the ending to this quest will be a major divergence that'll pretty much change everything.**

**Before you people start complaining about Percy being too OP, believe me when I say that this is ****_nothing_**** compared to his power later on in the story. Plus, there's really no way to make anyone OP in this series, y'know, 'cause there are gods, which are all pretty much overpowered up the butt, and then titans, which are even ****_more_**** overpowered, and then giants, which... well you get the idea. **

**And I better not hear anyone saying anything about pairings, because that moment was completely platonic. Percy summed it up pretty well:****_ "I'm like twelve years old, and I don't think I've even started puberty yet."_**

**Then again, what's an adventure story without a little romance? Meh, maybe later on, after I've introduced all the characters.**

**Anyway, 'till next time!**

**:D**

**UPDATE 9/8/13: So barely any real changes in this chapter. So far, this one has been the best in my opinion. Full of development, easiest to write (in terms of actually writing it down, not ideas. I've got plenty of those already), some humor, some action, you get the idea. I don't know, it just felt kind of complete in a way, but that's just pretentious author talk, so don't worry about it.**


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Percy Jackson, obviously, or else I wouldn't be writing fanfiction instead of the real thing. This disclaimer is a complete waste of my time.

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Barren Sky**

The trio had been dropped off at Greyhound Station in the Upper East side of Manhattan. Argus had gotten them their tickets and driven off, leaving the two demigods and satyr to wait for the bus that would take them to Erie, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, there was no way they could catch a plane West with the weather the way it was.

Percy recognized the bus station because he used to pass through there every day on his way to school. Looking around, he sighed in relief when he realized no one he knew was nearby.

The young demigod wondered how the orphanage was taking his sudden 'death'. Chiron had told him that the whole incident with the Minotaur had been interpreted as a psycho shooting up his school, and he'd been the only 'victim' before said psycho disappeared. Needless to say, he was pretty glad he'd never have to see anyone from his old life again.

Grover must've noticed something off, because he turned to face him with a curious expression. "You alright Percy?" the satyr asked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, just making sure no one'll recognize me," Percy responded, hands in his pockets.

"Why?" Annabeth asked him. "You live around here?"

"I used to," Percy told her, "in an orphanage around he corner. Apparently I'm dead, so it wouldn't be good if someone thought I rose from the grave."

"So... you live in an orphanage then?" the blonde asked, sounding slightly uncomfortable.

Percy noticed this, and made a dismissing gesture with his hand. "Yeah, as long as I can remember. It wasn't that bad, but having to share a house with so many people can get annoying every once in a while."

Grover sat down on a bench, stretching out his legs. "It's too bad you can't see them ever again though, unless you want to cause a panic," the goat boy said.

Percy only snorted, and decided to change the subject before his two companions asked any more questions. "So what about you, Rapunzel? How's your home life?"

Annabeth bristled at his nick-name, and sat down on the bench next to Grover, who looked ready to run away at a moment's notice. "Why should I tell you anything?" she asked him.

Percy grinned and sat down next to her. "Because," he said, "you brought up the topic of me not having any parents, so you owe it to me."

Annabeth glared at him, and sighed frustratedly. "I've lived at camp since I was seven." she told him with a grimace.

"Why? Are your parents dead too?"

Grover squeaked, and Annabeth looked appalled at his bluntness. "You can't just go around asking things like that Percy!" she told him sternly.

The psychokinetic shrugged. "What? If they are then so are mine, and if they aren't then there's no harm done. Tiptoeing around stuff like that is a waste of energy."

The daughter of Athena palmed her face. "Why did I agree to bring you along? I _knew_ how obnoxious you were. I've had to deal with it for the past two weeks, and I still let you come on my quest!"

Percy leaned back on his seat, legs crossed and arms behind his head. "Maybe it's because Luke told you to take me with you. Have you _ever_ said 'no' to that guy?"

Grover paled. Why had Luke tasked him with keeping those two from tearing each other apart? It had only been a few hours and Percy had already assured his death.

Annabeth started blushing madly. "H-Hey! It wasn't because of that!"

Percy smirked. "Then it must've been because I'm just that awesome," he teased, "I get it Belle, you-"

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Grover spraying him with water. Percy spluttered, sitting up in surprise, and glared at the satyr.

"What the hell!? Where did you even get that?" he asked, pointing at the water sprayer on the satyr's hand.

Grover gave him a nervous smile. "Ah, sorry about that. Katie told me to spray you whenever your ego got too big."

Percy pouted. "Aw man, she really doesn't trust me when it comes to that does she?"

Annabeth crossed her arms and graced him with a satisfied smile. "She was obviously smart enough not to."

Percy was about to retort, but the crowd around them started hastily walking in the same direction. The three companions looked over and saw that their bus had finally arrived. They stood up and made their way inside, finding three seats together at the back. Grover made sure to take his place in between the two hotheaded demigods.

Sitting down, Percy realized something strange. "Hey, hasn't there been some kind of 'resurgence' of monsters? I haven't seen any since we got here, and we've been outside Camp Half-Blood long enough for some to find us."

Grover sniffed around. "Yeah, I haven't smelled anything either. Maybe they've already been wiped out in this area?"

Annabeth shifted in her seat, tightening the hold on her Yankees cap. Percy noticed that she never seemed to put it on, or at least stuff it in her bag. _'I didn't think she liked sports that much,'_ he though.

"Whatever it is, it won't matter anymore," the blonde said. "We're leaving Manhattan, and monsters won't follow us on this bus. We'll worry about it if it happens in Erie too."

Percy nodded, and yawned loudly. "Maybe we should get some sleep," he requested. "We've been awake all day just waiting for this thing."

Getting nods all around, the three quest-takers made themselves as comfortable as they could. Percy was about to close his eyes and visit dreamland, but the sudden quake of the bus made him jerk back up. He looked around, and sighed in relief when he realized that it was just the bus taking off from the station, the last passenger finally having gotten on.

Percy looked at 'him' with interest, as he was definitely male. He was wearing a hoodie that covered his face in shadow, which was not only strange for that time of year, but also extremely ominous. There was a relatively large dog following the strange man, and it was staring right at him. The weirdest part was that no one in the bus seemed to acknowledge the man's presence, as if he wasn't even there. Just as Percy was about to warn his companions, the man patted the dog on the head and took a seat at the front.

Looking to his right, the young demigod noticed that his two friends were already asleep. He glanced over to the strange man, noting that be wasn't really paying attention to him, or anyone else. Yawning again, Percy decided that his tiredness must've been getting to him, and repositioned himself to sleep through the long journey ahead.

* * *

_Percy found himself in a forest, one he'd never seen before. Glancing up, he noticed that it was early in the morning. 'Huh?' he thought, 'I could've sworn the sun was going down. Unless...' Percy pinched himself, and groaned when he didn't feel any pain. 'Great, another one of these stupid dreams...'_

_The young demigod suddenly heard a rustling to his left, and prepared himself in case he needed to fight. Unexpectedly, instead of a monster of some kind, out walked the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had auburn hair, and was wearing an outfit that seemed to be made entirely out of silver. The girl also had a bow in her hand, and was crouched in a hunting position, looking around with her silver eyes. She seemed to be around his age, something that surprised him, because he didn't think a twelve-year-old girl could make hunting look so... professional._

_'Wait a minute...' Percy thought. 'Silver everywhere, hunting with a bow... Oh crap, Artemis! I had so much to live for!'_

_The psychokinetic was about to run away when Artemis looked directly at him. He froze in place, a bead of sweat making its way down his face. It seemed like she couldn't see him, but could definitely feel his presence, and Percy didn't want to see what happened when she realized he was there, dream or not._

_Luckily, there was another rustle in the bushes, and out walked a man wearing furs of all types, with a hunting bow strapped on his back. Percy gaped, not because of how warm the man must be under all those pelts, but because he looked almost exactly like him. The man had black hair that reached his shoulders, green eyes, and Percy could tell that they had similar facial structures because the man was relatively clean shaven._

_Artemis stopped looking around suspiciously and turned, arrow pointed right at the man, who raised his arms in a gesture of surrender. He didn't seem to be worried though, if anything he seemed to be excited._

_"Artemis, thank the gods I finally found you," the man said, lowering his arms. Astonishingly, the goddess also lowered her bow, something that went against everything Percy had ever heard about her._

_As nervous as the man seemed to be though, Artemis looked like she was having a panic attack. "You... you know you can't be seen with me, not at this time," she whispered, sounding like someone was actually listening in on their conversation, which Percy figured he was._

_"I know, I know," the man said, almost sheepishly, "but... look, I would really like to talk with you."_

_With a sigh, the hunting goddess transformed, going from a little girl to an incredibly attractive woman that would make any model jealous. "Now is not the time Orion. My girls aren't too far away, and the day is not safe for such things."_

_With a start, Percy realized three things. One, he was apparently in the past, two, this guy was totally putting the moves on Artemis, and three, both the goddess and the legendary hunter were speaking in Ancient Greek. 'I guess those lessons with Annabeth weren't so useless after all,' he thought. 'I'll have to thank her later.'_

_"I couldn't wait," Orion told Artemis, bringing Percy back to attention. "I just... I know how you are, and what you've promised, but I need to tell you..."_

_"Oh Orion, no..." the moon goddess said sadly. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his cheek. "You know it cannot be. Don't do this."_

_"I can't help it," said the famous hunter, and before she could react, kissed her. Percy felt incredibly awkward and a little guilty at what he was seeing, but it only took a second for the goddess to push herself off Orion and back away, a downcast look in her face._

_"I am sorry," she said, holding her hands against her chest, "I am so sorry."_

_Orion didn't seem much happier. "I know," he simply said to her, and with an air of finality, the man turned around and prepared to walk away. Suddenly though, a bright light filled the area, and all three present gasped upon seeing a shining man wearing golden robes. He had blonde hair, and looked like he could've been handsome if it wasn't for the unnatural hate filled gaze he set on the legendary archer._

_"Brother?" Artemis asked, her sweat evaporated from the pure heat Apollo was giving off._

_The sun god merely glanced back at his sibling. "It's hard to make out some things from such a height, but I was looking for you." The shining god glared at Orion. "You," he said, "how dare you?"_

_Orion was surprised. "What do you mean? I did no wrong!"_

_"Do not lie to me mortal," Apollo threatened, "I've been told of your unspeakable acts against my sister's charges."_

_Artemis appeared confused at first, then angry. "Unspeakable acts? You mean..."_

_"Yes," Apollo said, "one of your hunters prayed to me. She told me of a man who desecrated her, and then attempted to seduce her mistress."_

_Artemis exploded with rage. "You! How dare you!?"_

_Orion paled, and an honestly aghast expression crossed his face. "Wha-What? I did no such thing!"_

_"Was that your whole plan? Were you going to betray my trust since the beginning?"_

_"I would never-"_

_"Take him away!" Artemis screamed. "Take him to suffer! I do not want to see his face ever again in my immortal life!"_

_Apollo nodded. "Worry not, for I will place him somewhere where he can never forget his actions." With that said, the sun god erupted into light once more, and when Percy looked back, both he and Orion were gone. Artemis reverted back into her previous form, sat down on a fallen log, and buried her face in her hands._

_It took a few moments for the psychokinetic to realize that she was crying. He never thought that gods could cry about anything, especially the goddess of the hunt, and especially about a man. He thought about going there and comforting her in some way, but quickly dismissed the idea as he was in a dream, not to mention the cause of her sadness._

_All of a sudden, a girl came out of the forest. She wore similar clothes to the ones Artemis wore, making him guess that she was one of the Hunters._

_"My lady," said the girl, sitting down next to her mistress and placing a hand on her back. "What has happened?"_

_"Phoebe," Artemis said, trying to wipe away her tears. "Do not worry for me, I just... It is nothing. Let us gather the others. The time has come for us to leave this place."_

_With nothing more to say, the goddess trudged back into the forest, sorrow etched on her every step. Both Percy and Phoebe stared after her, and the young demigod noticed the huntress try to suppress her own tears. "I am sorry my lady," she said, and Percy's eyes widened, "it was for your own good."_

_The world distorted, and everything went white._

* * *

Percy woke up to the rattling of the bus. Looking outside the window, he noticed that they were out of the city, driving on a street flanked by trees. Even more importantly, it was nighttime. The young demigod looked up at the crescent moon, which was strangely visible past the many storm clouds in the sky, and wondered why he had such an insignificant dream. _'Demigod dreams are supposed to mean something,'_ he though, _'but that one didn't have anything to do with this quest, so what's going on?'_

"Oh, hey Percy. Couldn't sleep either?"

Percy turned to face the source of the voice, and met Grover's questioning gaze. Looking past the satyr, the demigod noticed that Annabeth was still peacefully, if not uncomfortably, asleep.

"Yeah, just some weird dreams," Percy responded.

Grover sat up in interest. "A dream? What was it about?"

Percy just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he whispered, not wanting to wake anyone up, and when Grover gave him a slightly anxious look, he continued, "don't worry though, it wasn't about the quest or anything, just a dream."

The nervous satyr calmed down at his words. "Good," he said, "it's going to be hard enough without something dangerous showing up in your sleep."

Percy eyed him strangely. "Grover, I don't get it. Why'd you come with us on this quest? It... doesn't seem like your kind of thing," he finished lamely, hoping the satyr wouldn't take offense.

Luckily for Percy, Grover nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know, but I _have_ to be on this quest."

"Why? Someone's forcing you?"

"No, nothing like that," Grover assured him, "it's more like... I need to prove myself to the Council of Cloven Elders if I want my searcher's license." Seeing that Percy hadn't understood any of the terms he used, Grover elaborated. "I want a searcher's license so that I can go look for Pan, the God of the Wild."

Percy still looked confused. "Wait, so he's missing? I thought he was dead."

Grover gave a solemn shake of his head. "Around two-thousand years ago some guy called Lysas started saying that, but us satyrs don't believe him. We've been looking for him ever since."

"Why wouldn't he be dead? Two-thousand years seems like a long time, and I'm pretty sure he's not just watching TV in some cave."

Grover glared at him, and Percy was surprised that the shy satyr could show so much resolve. "No, he _has_ to be out there somewhere. Nature's dying Percy, look," he pointed to the sky, which looked empty past all the clouds, even that far away from any buildings, "you're lucky to find more than a hundred stars these days, and the air is so _dirty. _I almost barfed when we left camp borders! No offense, but you humans are ruining the planet," Percy gave the satyr a slightly apologetic shrug, "If we can find Pan, wherever he is, he can fix all of it."

The young demigod nodded hastily. "Okay, I get it," he muttered. "You need a searcher's license to go and find him, so why won't they give you one?"

All the fire left Grover's eyes, and he hanged his head dejectedly. "I'm a failure. Just two weeks ago I was supposed to bring a demigod to camp from some place called Yancy Academy. I stayed there for a year, and I totally blew it."

"What happened?"

"A monster showed up out of nowhere. I can't really fight very much with my reed pipes, so we were pretty defenseless. It started attacking us, and the guy held it off so that I could get away."

"I get the idea," Percy said solemnly. "Was he your friend?"

Grover shook his head. "Not really. I mean, he was nice and all, but we weren't very close. It doesn't matter anyway," the satyr slumped over on his seat, holding his head with both hands. "Gods, I'm so useless! I hate it! That's the second time someone dies for me!"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Woah, wait, the _second_ time? What was the first?"

He couldn't see his face, but Percy was sure that his question made Grover feel even worse. "You know the story about Thalia's tree?" the satyr asked.

Percy nodded, seeing where his companion was going. "I guess you were the satyr then."

Beckendorf had told him the entire tale of how a daughter of Zeus named Thalia and her two demigod friends were led to camp by a satyr. They were being chased by monsters, and Thalia had sacrificed herself to make sure her friends made it to safety. The King of Gods took pity on his daughter, and as she died, turned her into a pine tree at the borders of Camp Half-Blood.

The son of Hephaestus had been wary of telling him who the other three in the story were, and when he had asked Luke about it his teacher sparred with a ferocity he hadn't seen since.

"So," Percy started, deciding to take his chance, "who were the other two? They're still alive right?"

Grover nodded listlessly, and pointed a finger at Annabeth. "You already know them. Her and Luke."

Percy's eyes widened, but seeing the satyr so depressed, he decided to try and cheer him up. "Really? Well, they don't look like they're mad at you, so maybe it's not really your fault."

Grover shook his head. "You don't get it. We were being chased by an army of monsters, but somehow stayed ahead of them. I made a wrong turn though, and led them into a Cyclops hideout. All the monsters chasing us had enough time to catch up. We were making such good time too..." he let out a silent sob, mindful of all the sleeping people on the bus. "Maybe Luke and Annabeth don't blame me, but if I hadn't gone that way, then Thalia would still be alive. If I actually knew how to fight, then Andrew would still be alive. I'm so..."

Percy quickly grew tired of Grover's self-pity, and slapped the satyr in the face, soft enough to not wake anyone up, but hard enough to make a point. "Dude," he whispered, "you can't blame yourself for everything bad that's ever happened. It's not even your fault anyway."

"What!?" Grover shouted, and immediately covered his mouth. Both of them looked around, sighing in relief when no one was roused by his outburst. When they made sure everyone else was asleep, the satyr turned back to Percy. "What do you mean it's not my fault? I just told you what happened, so how can you possibly think it's not my fault?"

Percy held his hands out in a placating gesture. "Look man, just hear me out alright? Why were you sent out to guide Thalia and the others in the first place?"

Grover blinked at the question, and took a pensive position. "Well... The council sent me out to prove myself. It was the first assignment I ever had."

"See?" Percy asked him rhetorically. "It's not your fault after all. Why would the council send out someone with no experience to take care of three demigods at the same time, including the daughter of the boss of all bosses?"

"Well..."

"And," Percy interrupted before Grover could try and justify the council's actions, "why would they tell you to go protect this Andrew guy when they know that you can't fight?"

"I guess when you put it that way..."

"It sounds to me like that council's just full of a bunch of idiots." the young demigod finished, crossing his arms and looking at Grover expectantly. The satyr just stared ahead, thinking about the new perspective Percy had brought to the table. After several long (and boring, in Percy's opinion) minutes, Grover sat up and looked at him.

"I still think its my fault, at least a little," he admitted, "but maybe you're right. It makes sense, so I guess it wasn't _all_ my fault." Grover grinned, and Percy could've sworn he saw some of the guilt that had been weighting him down suddenly lift from his shoulders. "So thanks, I really needed that."

Percy returned his smile, and lifted his arm, holding out his fist. "No problem G-man, it's just what I do."

Grover hesitated, but after a moment bumped his fist with Percy's. The two settled in their seats, and the serious mood from before shifted into a comfortable silence.

"Y'know, I _am_ awesome at that kind of stuff. Dr. Phil ain't got nothing on-"

"Don't make me take out the water sprayer."

* * *

"You guys are acting weird, you know that?"

Grover and Percy glanced at each other, then set their eyes straight ahead.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm just as great as I was yesterday."

The daughter of Athena huffed, but Percy wasn't about to spoil his bro-bonding moment with Grover by telling her about it. The three were walking away from the motel they had checked in at, and were heading towards Lake Erie, on account of Grover wanting to 'bask in the glory of Pan'. Percy didn't really mind, after all, he'd never been to any of the five Great Lakes in person. Annabeth on the other hand...

"I just don't see why we're doing this," the blonde complained, "we're supposed to be finding a way West."

"Aw c'mon Annabeth," Grover pleaded,"it'll be really quick, I promise!"

"Yeah Snow White," Percy teased, "you know you'd do the same if we were close to some national monument or something."

Annabeth bristled. "No I wouldn't! I'm smart enough to know when we're in a hurry, and right now we're definitely in a hurry!"

Percy held his hands behind his head and started to walk at a casual stroll, slowing them down even more. "You really need to chill out," he told Annabeth. "The prophesy already said we'd find the bolt in time. Who knows? Maybe we'll find a way West if we go to the lake."

Annabeth sighed, as she couldn't really argue against a point like that, and decided to follow Percy's advice for once. The psychokinetic smirked. _'That's what you get Annie.'_

-Flashback-

"_Well, we're finally here."_

_Grover nodded at Annabeth's statement. The three companions had just been dropped off by the bus. It took a few minutes of 'swimming' past the innumerable ocean of people, but they'd finally made their way to the motel they'd be staying at. Both the satyr and the blonde sighed in relief, glad to finally get the chance to sleep in a real bed._

_Percy however, was grinding his teeth. Throughout the entire walk, Annabeth had relentlessly lectured on the many buildings in Erie. With a twitching eyelid, he stomped up next to Grover._

_"Does she always do that?" he whispered._

_Grover looked at him strangely. "Do what?"_

_"What the hell do you mean 'do what?' She went on for half an hour about the structure of the thirtieth column next to the lamppost we were left off at!"_

_"Oh, that. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't be used to it."_

_Percy palmed his face. "Yeah," he said dryly, "I guess not."_

_Grover chuckled nervously. "Well, you'll have to. She's really, really into architecture."_

_Percy groaned. "So that's the way it'll be for the rest of the quest? Man, the way things are going, it'll be easier to die of boredom than of bloodthirsty monsters."_

_His satyr friend held his chin in thought. "You know... I don't think she's ever done it to that extent. Usually she just sees something and tells us about it really quick, then just stops talking all together."_

_"Yeah well that's what you get for annoying me all the time, jerk."_

_Percy and Grover turned around to see Annabeth with a pleased smile on her lips._

_"W-Wait a minute," Percy stammered. "You... You actually got me back!? Are you s-serious!?"_

_Annabeth merely walked in between the two boys, strolling past them and heading towards the motel. "You mess with the bull, you get the horns. It's on Percy Jackson."_

_The two quest-members just stood there, one in mild amusement, and the other in shock._

-Flashback-

As Annabeth brooded and Percy snickered, Grover's eyes lit up. "We're here!" he shouted, and ran ahead, disappearing into the flora. The two demigods turned to each other, shrugged their shoulders, and followed after their half-goat friend.

They found him at the edge of the lake, kneeled down. Reaching him, the two quickly took notice of Grover's change in mood. As excited as he was just moments ago, he had become disappointed. Percy placed his hand on Grover's shoulder, and Annabeth knelt next to the satyr.

"Hey G-man, you alright? What happened?" Percy asked, looking warily over the waters of the lake.

"It's just..." Grover sniffed, " I thought this would be one of the last wild places... but I was just kidding myself. Look at this!"

The satyr raised his hands, gesturing towards the lake, and Percy immediately realized what the problem was. Lake Erie, one of the largest lakes on the planet, was thoroughly polluted. "Damn..." he muttered, feeling sorry for his nature-loving friend. The water was dirty, filled with gross substances he didn't even want to think about, and the shore was littered with trash. The terrible weather didn't do much to help the picture either.

Annabeth hugged the satyr, and the three stayed there, looking over the lake. Percy sighed for what felt like the twentieth time, but his muscles tensed when he heard a footstep behind them. The three turned around, and found themselves face to hood with the mysterious guy Percy had seen at the bus earlier, the man's dog just a few inches away. Something Percy hadn't noticed before though, was that the man held a bow in his hands, with an arrow already notched.

'_That looks kinda familiar,'_ Percy thought, but quickly shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts._ 'Now isn't the time for distractions.'_

"So it's you," the young demigod said, startling his two companions. "I thought you looked pretty shifty."

Annabeth stood up, unsheathing her dagger and holding her cap at the ready. Grover stood up as well, decidedly less confident, and held his reed pipes up to his mouth. Percy and the man only stared at each other, neither moving a muscle. A strong breeze blowed through the shore of Lake Erie, fluttering their hair.

All of a sudden, Percy charged the hooded man, sword and shield out in a flash, and crossed the forty yard gap in five seconds flat, surprising both of his quest-mates.

'_Fast!'_ Annabeth thought, _'how can he do that after only two weeks?'_

'_Wow!'_ Grover thought, _'Luke must've worked him to death!'_

The hooded man didn't seem to be perturbed in the least, and when Percy tried to cut his head off, he deftly ducked under the slash. Quick as lightning, the hooded man tried to knee Percy in the stomach, but the young demigod blocked the attack with his shield. Percy tried to hit him across the face with the butt of his sword, but the man used his elbow to deflect the blow. The two fighters jumped away from each other, both holding their weapons at the ready.

"So what's up with you then?" Percy asked his opponent. "Why attack us? Are you working for Hades or something?"

The man didn't say anything, and Percy felt unnerved by his silence. "Hey!" he shouted at him. "What's wrong Hoody? Are you so awed by my awesome that you just can't say anything?"

'Hoody' merely cocked his head and aimed his bow at the young demigod. Percy prepared himself to jump away, but the dog besides Hoody started barking and jumped at a spot behind its owner. It crashed into something, and Percy heard a shriek when the dog seemed to pin an invisible body to the ground. It reached for something with its mouth, and suddenly Annabeth was lying beneath the dog, her Yankees cap clasped in its maw.

'_So that's what it does,'_ Percy thought absentmindedly.

"Such tricks won't work on me," Hoody surprisingly said in a low voice. "Even without Laelaps, I could still smell you out myself."

Annabeth's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, roots started wrapping around Laelaps' paws. The large dog hopped away, it's ebony eyes focusing on Grover, who had been trying to use his woodland magic as inconspicuously as possible. The satyr backed up a few steps, and Laelaps leaped at him with a growl, Annabeth following.

Taking advantage of the distraction caused by his friends, Percy tried charging at Hoody once more, but had to sidestep an arrow by the skin of his teeth. He growled at the hooded man, and his enemy just chuckled. "Nice try," Hoody taunted, "but it will take a lot more to catch me off guard."

Quick as a whip, Hoody loosened another arrow, and another, and another. Percy quickly found himself dancing, trying to avoid all the arrows coming his way. _'How's this guy doing this!?'_ he thought. _'I didn't think it was even possible to shoot arrows this fast!'_

* * *

As Percy tap-danced for his life, Annabeth and Grover struggled to put down the strange dog.

"Can't you talk to it!?" shouted Annabeth, who was trying to get behind Laelaps, who still had her hat between its teeth. She leaped at the large canine, but it dashed under her jump and darted in the air after her. Unable to dodge in midair, Annabeth could only close her eyes as she was tackled by the unnatural dog. She landed forcefully nearby, and stood up as quickly as she could on her wobbly legs.

Grover played a quick tune with his pipes, getting some roots to grow under where Laelaps would land. The dog wasn't fazed, and it bared its fangs, dropping Annabeth's cap. When it landed, it quickly bit and clawed through all the roots in mere seconds. The satyr groaned in disappointment at his own weak magic, and answered his friend as he eyed their opponent. "No, I can't talk to it. I'm guessing it's some kind of monster, but I've never heard of it."

Annabeth cursed in Ancient Greek, and hastily retrieved her Yankees cap. "Well, I know what it is, and this is really, really bad. We need to get rid of it _now_."

Grover nodded, readying his pipes. The moment Annabeth turned invisible, he started playing as hard as he could. Roots sprouted out of the ground in waves, forcing Laelaps to chomp away to avoid getting drowned by the magical plant life. Some succeeded in wrapping around its legs, and before long the large dog was completely covered by Grover's woodland magic.

The satyr would've celebrated, but he was running out of energy. Sweat pored down his forehead in veritable waves, drenching his clothes. Before long, he couldn't take it anymore, and the roots around Laelaps started to get plucked out one by one. The beast used its impressive strength to root out its confinement, and after a few moments it was finally free of all the plants.

Laelaps strutted over to Grover, who was lying exhausted on the ground. Before it could do any harm, it sensed something coming on its right, and leaped out of the way. Looking back, it turned out to just be the jacket Annabeth had been wearing. Laelaps didn't have time to process that information before it was stabbed in the side by Annabeth's dagger, which had just rematerialized with her.

The monster whined, backing away. "A-Annabeth?" Grover asked from his spot on the ground. "H... How did y-you get it? I th-thought... thought it could smell you... when you w-were invisible."

Annabeth nodded at her friend. "That's right, but it wasn't ready for there to be two sources of the same scent. I took off my jacket and threw it, distracting Laelaps long enough for me to take advantage of it."

Grover smiled in relief. "We g-got it then. Lets go... help Percy." The satyr tried to push himself up, but gasped when his body protested. Annabeth kneeled down and started helping him up.

"Don't worry about Percy," she told her old friend, "you need to rest for now. I'm sure he's fine."

* * *

_'Damn! I am __**so**__ not fine right now!'_ Percy thought, dodging another volley of arrows. He'd tried everything, from throwing his shield with his psychokinesis to shifting the ground under Hoody's feet, but nothing seemed to work. Hoody was obviously far more skilled than he, and even if his powers were pretty strong, nothing could beat a large amount of experience.

_'Alright, that's it!'_ the young demigod though, his anger peaking, _'it's about time I tried this again anyway. I just need to play this right...'_

"Are you fighting back anytime soon?" Hoody called out. "Dodging is all well and good, but I thought this was a fight, not target practice. You should be glad I've been keeping all the monsters off you, because you obviously can't handle them."

Percy ignored him, capped his pen, and held it in his closed fist. He started building up a mass amount of atoms around his knuckles, and prepared himself for what would come next.

Hoody noticed him 'sheathe' his weapon, and didn't miss a chance to taunt his opponent. "What's the matter? Finally had eno-"

Before the hooded man could finish his sentence, Percy suddenly appeared right on front of him with a burst of speed, his sword-arm cocked back. As hard and fast as he could, the psychokinetic punched Hoody right in his shadowed nose. The great repulsive force from all the gathered atoms in his fist sent his enemy flying back into the forest, and the sound of breaking bark echoed across the lake.

Percy dropped to a knee, panting, but a smirk could be seen on his face. _'I guess I just need to get used to burning so many calories so fast,'_ he thought, glad that his biokinesis had worked for muscle enhancement without knocking him out. _'It was worth it though. There's no way anyone could survive something like that without breaking more than a few bones.'_

Just as he was about to whoop in victory, Hoody came walking back into view. To Percy's shock and horror, the man seemed fine enough. The only sign that he'd just been hurled at a tree faster than the average eye could track was the way he was holding his side.

Hoody chuckled at Percy's obvious amazement. "I have to admit that I underestimated you," he said. "Unfortunately for you, I've been hit far worse than that. Believe me though," his voice turned icy cold, "you merely surprised me. It won't happen again."

The man raised his bow and aimed it at the still tired Percy. Before he could fire, Hoody heard a whimper nearby, and turned to see Laelaps limping towards him. He lowered his bow and kneeled besides his dog.

After a moment, Hoody stood back up and addressed the psychokinetic. "I am sorry to say that this is the end of our little scuffle, but Laelaps is not one for fighting. Don't worry though, we'll meet again, and in the meantime... heh, well you can see for yourself."

The man pointed to the lake, and Percy paled at the sight of a giant crab emerging out of the water. It was huge, at least the size of a small house, and it's pincers looked big and sharp enough to cut cars in half. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he shouted in disbelief, but when he turned around Hoody had disappeared.

Percy stood up with a groan, and wobbled his way over to Annabeth and Grover before the new monster reached the shore. The three companions were tired, injured, and about to face a monster that could eat them whole. All in all, it didn't look like their quest could get any worse.

* * *

**AN:**

**Man, that was the longest chapter yet! I'm a day late, but hey, it's Labor Day, so at least you can have something to read on your day off right?**

**Seriously though, this one was real tough to write. It got easier towards the end, but I spent at least an hour just thinking about how I wanted to write the first half of this chapter, so hopefully it turned out alright.**

**Now, just because Artemis showed up doesn't mean Pertemis, so let me just nip that in the bud right here. Whenever I decide to start the romance, it won't be with any of the goddesses, because it just doesn't fit in this story, so there.**

**On the other hand, there's some Percy/Grover bromance right there for you guys. Annabeth and Grover will both play important parts in this story, different than in canon (****_especially_**** Annabeth. MUAHAHAHAHA) so it's about time Percy started making friends.**

**Talking about Percy, don't worry. Yeah, he's a little arrogant, and has a huge ego, but you can't honestly say that you wouldn't act the same way. Look at it this way: he's a twelve-year-old boy with pretty much the strongest power on Earth, so how is it possible to ****_not_**** have an ego? He'll be growing up and maturing as the story progresses; it wouldn't be fun if there was nothing for him to improve on as a character, would it?**

**Who is this mysterious man? Why is Annabeth so adamant about killing his dog? (yes, Laelaps is a real myth, so if you're curious enough you can probably find it.) Find out next time as our heroes battle against a giant crab! (which is also a real myth.)**

**Anyway, 'till next time!**

**:D**

**UPDATE 9/8/13: Finally, I'm done with all this. Nothing really changed in this one, and now I can actually work on the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Percy Jackson blah, blah, blah.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Terror of the Lake**

After a couple of minutes of rest, Grover was refreshed enough to stand. Annabeth handed him his reed pipes with a slightly worried look. "You sure you're okay? It's only been a few minutes..."

"I'm fine now," Grover assured his friend, straightening his back to get his point across. "That thing was just a lot to keep under control." Grover then sighed heavily, his body going back to its usual hunched position. "What was that thing anyway? You seemed pretty freaked out about it."

Annabeth nodded gravely. "That dog, Laelaps, is really dangerous, especially since that hooded guy apparently followed us here."

"I think I would've heard of something like that if it was really as dangerous as you're putting it," Grover said uncertainly.

"I'm not surprised you've never heard of it," Annabeth told the satyr, who cocked his head in curiosity. "The story of Laelaps isn't one of the most well known Greek myths out there. Basically, it's a dog that is destined to always find its prey."

Grover gulped. "Uh, when you mean always..."

_"Always,"_ Annabeth said seriously, making her half-goat friend pale. "It's destined to. Even if we killed it, Laelaps would just reform and hunt us again."

Grover fidgeted. "Well m-m-maybe that guy wasn't looking for us. Maybe he was j-just having a bad day and d-decided he wanted to take it out on us, or he was g-g-going somewhere and we j-just happened to be in his way, or..."

Annabeth shook her head, stopping Grover's stuttering hopes. "_Chased by hunters with zealous glee, burdened with no chance to flee_, remember? It couldn't possibly mean anything else."

Grover's head slumped forward. "I was afraid you'd say something like that..."

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet rumbled. There was also the distinct sound of someone frantically screaming for their life.

"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap!"

The blonde and the satyr looked over to the sight of Percy Jackson running away from a giant, ten-foot crab that was chasing said demigod surprisingly fast for something of such size.

Grover sighed. "I guess there's no chance I'm just imagining that is there?"  
The giant rammed its pincer into Percy's side, sending him flying into the trees. With no other target in sight, the creature made a beeline for Annabeth and Grover, its giant, prickly legs leaving gouges in the lake shore.

The daughter of Athena took out her dagger. "Guess not. Sorry Grover." She sent him a stern look. "Rest up some more okay? Go make sure Percy's fine, I'll lead it away." She took off without waiting for a response, running up to the crustacean monster and dashing away when she got its attention.

Grover watched her go, and after a few moments made his way to where Percy got clubbed. He walked around the forest area with narrowed eyes, cursing the dark clouds that covered the sky. It would've been a lot easier to see if the sun were shining its light down on the trees, but nevertheless, he continued his search.

Finally, just when he was starting to believe Percy got turned into dust, the satyr heard a low groan to his left. He delicately pushed away some bushes to find Percy lying on his back, rubbing his shield arm.

"Percy, you alright?" Grover asked, trying not to sound as surprised as he really was. The young demigod looked tired, but otherwise fine for someone who just got hit by a giant pincer like a golf ball.

Percy nodded, sitting up slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I used my shield to break my fall, not that it really helped much. I guess you could say my arm feels a bit... crabby."

Grover palmed his face. "Now is really not the time."

The psychokinetic chuckled, standing up and looking around. There was something missing though. "Hey, where's Annabeth? She was with you wasn't she?"

"Oh, she went to fight that giant crab thing."

Percy's eyes widened. "Wait, what!? You just let her go!?"

"Well it's not like I wanted her to," the satyr said, trying to defend himself. "I could barely walk, much less run after her." There was a rumble in the distance. "Uh, we should probably go help her out though."

Percy ran back out to the shore, intent on making sure Annabeth didn't get hurt. His promise to Luke was still fresh in his mind. _'Don't worry Luke,' he thought. 'I'll keep them safe!'_

Grover was once again left on his own to catch up with his companions. He looked towards the grey sky, sighing in frustration. "Can't these two understand that I'm tired as Hades? Some help would be nice." With no one to hear him, the satyr was forced to go after his friends, his feet dragging on the ground all the way.

* * *

When Percy found Annabeth, he spat out a curse. The daughter of Athena was deftly dodging the beast's monstrous appendages, but it didn't look like she could keep it up for much longer. She was panting hard, and her moves were getting slower and slower. The young demigod sped up, intending to help her deal with the monster. "Annabeth!"

Said girl turned at the sound of her name, and Percy cursed once more when he saw that the crab swung at her again, only this time she was too distracted to get out of the way. With a panicked spasm, the psychokinetic shifted the ground under her, making Annabeth trip and miss the giant pincer by a hair's breath.

When Percy finally reached Annabeth, he picked her up off the ground princess style and sped away to a safe distance behind the giant crab. The huge creature was too slow to turn, and lost sight of both demigods. Percy hid behind a low rock formation in the shore of the Great Lake, sighing in relief when he saw that the monster hadn't seen his escape.

"C-Can you let me down now?" an annoyed voice said, unnervingly nearby.

Percy looked down to see a glaring Annabeth still being held in his arms, an embarrassed red hue plastered on her face. Surprised at the blonde's proximity, Percy dropped her unceremoniously on the ground, causing a faint gasp.

"Be more careful!"

"Sorry, alright!?" Percy told her, looking over their hiding place. The giant crab was still looking for its missing prey, and Percy thanked the gods for its terrible eyesight. "We've got bigger things to worry about right now," he said, not bothering to acknowledge the unintended pun. "So what's the plan, Cap'n?

Annabeth thought their options over, then sighed. "The only major weakness a crab has is that it can only move sideways, but besides that, I'm out if ideas. Its shell is too thick for any of our weapons, and even then it would be too big to feel them anyway."

Percy frowned. "Haven't there been any Greek myths about a giant crab? Maybe we could get something out of it."

To Percy's disappointment, his blonde partner shook her head. "It won't do any good. The only thing I can think of is Karkinos, the humongous crab. It was beaten by Hercules on one of his tasks."

The psychokinetic was confused now. Wasn't that what he had asked for? "Uh... So how'd Hercules beat it then?"

"He stomped it to death," Annabeth bluntly stated, "or some people say he threw it into space. Whichever it is, it doesn't matter since we can't really do any of that."

Percy sagged his shoulders. Why couldn't things ever be easy for him? "So what now?"

Annabeth but her lip, and appeared to have some kind of argument with herself. Finally, the blonde sighed. "We can't beat it, and we still have a quest to do, so we'll just leave."

Her black-haired friend looked appalled. "You mean run away!? But-"

"I know," Annabeth interrupted, not wanting to get into an argument with her quest-mate, "but what other choice do we have? 'We've got bigger things to worry about' remember? If we die just because of our pride then the whole world pays the price."

Percy glared at the ground. He knew she was right, but it was a tough pill to swallow. After all, what kind of hero ran away from fights? This wasn't about his reputation though, it was about the whole world and everyone who lived in it, his friends included. With a grunt, he nodded in agreement. "Fine, but we'll call it a tactical retreat when the story comes up."

Annabeth couldn't stop a smile from forming. "Deal."

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Blinking in confusion, both demigods peeked over the large rock they were hiding behind, only to find Grover being held in one of Karkinos' pincers. The mythical crustacean started flailing him around, causing the satyr's screams to become even more desperate.

_'Crap!' _Percy thought. _'How the hell did I forget about Grover!? Damn it!'_ The young demigod turned to Annabeth, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him. "I guess that throws the whole 'tactical retreat' plan out the window." Annabeth's numb nod was his only answer. The psychokinetic sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. "That plan didn't even last five seconds. We need to start making better plans."

"Alright," Annabeth started, having found her voice, "here's the new plan: we go and get Grover out of there, then distract Karkinos long enough for us to get away."

"Okay. How exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"Haven't really thought that part through yet," the daughter of Athena admitted.

Percy just shrugged. "Meh, better than nothing I guess. On three?" Getting a nod in response, the young demigod began counting. "One, two, three!"

The two pre-teens dashed out from behind their cover, with Percy taking the lead. Not wanting to waste any time, the young demigod beamed his shield at the giant pincer constraining his satyr friend. The bronze disc blasted into the armored appendage hard enough to produce a loud bang, but the beast only turned its body around to face its new prey.

Biting back a curse, Percy summoned his shield and unsheathed Riptide. Twirling the blade in his hand, the young demigod decided to take the fight up close, and charged the giant crab. Annabeth was occupied by the other pincer, her tired muscles barely being able to keep up with the beast's relatively slow but precise attacks.

Percy avoided the monster's prickly legs, not wanting to get kicked off his feet. He tried looking for a way to fight back, but any idea he came up with was immediately shot down. The limbs were too well protected, and, as Annabeth had said, its shell was too thick for his sword to even begin cutting through.

The monster was intent on stomping him into the ground, and Percy barely dodged out of the way of a leg that instead stabbed into the earth. The beast tried to stomp on him with the same leg again, and Percy's eyes narrowed when he saw how much trouble it had pulling it out of the soil. A crazy idea popped into his mind, one so completely insane that he almost disregarded it before Annabeth suddenly shouted something at him.

"Percy!" she called out. "Its eyes! Try aiming for the eyes!"

_'This might actually work...'_ With that thought in mind, Percy ran to Annabeth's side, avoiding all of Karkinos' sharp legs in the process. "I've got an idea," he told her when he'd gotten close enough.

Annabeth ducked, avoiding the pincer that would've taken her head off. "You can have those?"

The disbelief in her tone put an annoyed frown on Percy's face. "Why do people think I'm stupid? I haven't done anything stupid enough for you guys to treat me like that."

"Not yet."

"Just hear me out, will you?"

The crab monster was getting frustrated. No matter what it did, its two demigod opponents would never get hit, and it didn't help that its offense was limited to only one pincer, since its other one was occupied with the satyr. All of a sudden, Percy and Annabeth stopped moving and watched the great monster expectantly. Karkinos wasn't smart enough to see through the obvious trap, and prepared to stab them both with its pincer. Just as the sharp appendage was about to slam down on them, the two demigods jumped out of the way. The pincer struck the ground point first, digging deep into the earth.

Percy then initiated his part of the plan. He held his arms out, hands positioned like he was holding something between them, and started to 'crush' the imaginary object between his palms. Immediately, the earth around Karkinos' pincer strengthened as it gravitated towards the giant claws, leaving the appendage trapped. The giant crab tried pulling it out, but it was too deeply ingrained and constricted into the ground.

"Now!" Percy shouted, and Annabeth gave him a firm nod before jumping up on the pincer and running up the crab's arm. The psychokinetic was sweating bullets, having to fight against the massive pressure Karkinos was using to take its pincer off the ground. Despite that, he held strong long enough for his blonde partner to reach the main body. He gasped in exertion, releasing his hold on the giant pincer, and sighed in relief, glad that Annabeth had made it up the crab's arm as safely as she did.

His relief turned into panic when the crustacean monster turned its beady eyes on him. It raised its pincer and hammered it down on him. He barely had enough time to raise his shield before getting hit, and even so, he was slammed against the ground. The monster continued to smash its pincer against his shield, and Percy could feel himself starting to make an indent on the lake shore. His arm was beginning to hurt, and the young demigod thanked the gods it had been Beckendorf who made his shield for him, for it would've probably broken otherwise. _'C'mon Annabeth, any day now!'_

Meanwhile, Annabeth scaled her way up to the monster's eyes, intent on stabbing them through with her knife. Karkinos must've been ready for such an offensive though, for it dropped Grover on the ground, and used its newly freed pincer to pick the blonde demigod off its face. She screamed in surprise, and then in agony, the sharp claws starting to press against her.

"Annabeth!" Percy and Grover shouted simultaneously. Percy tried to get up and rescue her, but his body felt like it had been folded into itself, the crab's repetitive slamming having taken its toll. _'Damn, my bones feel like they got crushed. Why'd we agree to let Annabeth carry all the ambrosia?'_

Grover looked on in despair. The satyr tried to jump onto the giant monster, attempting to rescue his friend, but even with his goat legs Grover couldn't reach even half the distance.

Annabeth was in pain. The monster's claws dug into her skin, constraining her more every second. In a fit of desperation, the blonde took out her knife and mumbled a prayer. After a suffering sigh, Annabeth reopened her grey eyes and fixed them on Karkinos' own, her knife held delicately in her right hand before she cocked her arm back and threw it.

The gleaming bronze knife sailed through the air and right into one of the monster's black eyes. It screeched in pain and dropped the daughter of Athena, who landed in an unmoving lump. The giant beast went mad, flailing its pincers and stumbling its way into the forest.

Both Percy and Grover sighed in relief, the former now being held up by the latter. The two companions slowly made their way to the third, who was still lying motionless on the lake shore.

"Annabeth!" Percy called out. When no answer came, both quest-mates hurried over to the blonde, kneeling beside her. Grover bent down and checked her heartbeat.

The psychokinetic fidgeted nervously, horror creeping up on him. He couldn't have failed, not so early on in the quest. What would Luke say? Chiron? He couldn't live with himself if he killed Annabeth with his dumb plan.

Finally, after several tense moments, Grover lifted his head with a smile. "She's okay," the satyr said, and Percy could feel relief flood into his body, relaxing his muscles and bringing out a smile of his own. "A few broken bones and torn muscles, but it missed her organs. Nothing some nectar and ambrosia can't fix."

The satyr got some of the godly food from Annabeth's bag and forced it down her throat. She instantly looked better, several wounds started closing up and color returned to her face. Grover sat down and blew out a big breath. "I'm glad that's over with. What was that thing anyway?"

Percy sat down too, finally being able to calm down after such an intense fight for his life. "Annabeth said something about it being a big crab that Hercules killed. I think its name was Karikos or something." He lay down on his back, hands behind his head. "Whatever it was, its gone now. We won't have to worry about it ever again."

Just when he said that, an explosion blasted out from the direction of where Karkinos disappeared. Percy and Grover looked at each other, stunned. "Uh, Percy?" Grover asked.

"Yeah?"

"Didn't that just come from the city?"

"... Crap."

Grover seemed to think the same. "What did we just do!? We just let a crazy giant crab loose on Erie city! What do we do, Percy!?"

Percy wanted to say that it wasn't their problem, that they had already faced the monster, but he knew it would've just been an excuse. They had been the ones to let the crustacean monster march into the city.

"We should go take care of that," he told Grover, and the satyr groaned in complaint. "I know G-man, but its our fault there's a giant crab tearing up the city. Mortal weapons don't hurt monsters remember? They don't stand a chance without us."

Grover already knew it, but it still had to be said. With a shaky sigh, the satyr stood up on his hooves. "Okay... Okay, we'll go. So how do you want to do this? Do we take Annabeth with us or-"

"I've got a better idea," Percy said. "I'll go fight the big guy-er-crab, and you stay here to watch over Annabeth." Seeing Grover about to argue, Percy continued. "Look man, out of the both of us, I'm the strongest. If _I_ can't beat the thing, then you can't either, and someone needs to stay here with her, because I am _not_ leaving her alone."

Grover frowned in concern, and cursed in Ancient Greek. They stood there for a few seconds, Percy waiting for Grover to say something, and finally the satyr nodded. "I don't like it, but you're right," he said. "How will you beat it though?"

Percy chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek. "Yeah, well I'm not really sure yet. I'll think of something on the way."

With that, Percy ran to the city, taking Annabeth's bag with him. Grover was about to say something, but shook his head, knowing that the young demigod wouldn't listen to him anyway. The satyr glanced down to his injured friend, hoping things would turn out okay.

* * *

It hadn't been hard to find Karkinos. After all, it left a trail the size of a city block, and how hard could it be to find a giant, ten-foot crab destroying the city anyway? When Percy caught sight of the monster, there were several mortals with guns attacking it, though he knew their efforts were in vain. All of their bullets passed right through the crab's body like if it wasn't even there, though by the mess it was causing, no one could deny that it most definitely was.

The young demigod was hesitant to go and face the beast with so many mortals in the way, as getting caught in the crossfire didn't sound like a very appealing situation. He hid behind a pile of rubble and briefly wondered what the Mist made Karkinos out to be in mortal eyes, but disregarded the though.

Luckily for him, and unluckily for the mortals, Karkinos sent them all flying with a swipe of its pincer. Taking his chance, Percy called out to the great monster.

"HEEEEEY! COME OVER HERE YOU OVERGROWN SHRIMP!"

The monster heard him, and it turned around to see the boy who gave it so much trouble a few minutes before. With an un-crab-like growl, it quickly sidestepped its way to him, and Percy decided to put his half-assed plan to work.

With a yell, Percy threw his shield at the crustacean, and the bronze disc crashed into its only good eye. Karkinos, now fully blinded, started swinging its pincers around madly, bringing down buildings and tearing trees off their roots.

Seeing the change from bad to worse, Percy scratched the back of his head. "Wow," he said sheepishly, "that really didn't go like I thought it would."

All of the mortals that had been left ran away when they saw how insane Karkinos became, leaving the two opponents alone. Percy jumped out of the way when one of the crab's claws slammed into the street, leaving a sizable hole in the pavement. _'Alright Percy, you've got this! Just think of something...'_

Dodging a car that got batted by one of the crab's armored legs, the psychokinetic tried to think of anything that might kill the monster permanently. _'It's impossible! That armor is like the perfect shield! I can't cut through it no matter what I do, and I don't have any attacks strong enough to crack it open.' _Jumping over a light post that slid down the street, Percy tried calming himself down, remembering when Luke told him that panicking in a fight wouldn't do him any favors. Thinking about Luke, a memory surfaced in his mind. _'I remember now! I was using my shield too much during a spar, and Luke just flanked me. What was it that he said? No shield is impenetrable? Something like that...'_

Now he just had to find a way around the 'shield,' except that it covered Karkinos' entire body. That only left an attack from the inside._ 'But the only way in would be its eyes, and I'm not small enough to fit through there...'_ He looked down at his sword with a contemplative frown, _'but maybe I've got something that does.'_

Nodding to himself, Percy capped his sword, turning it back into a pen, and held it lightly in his hand. He walked over to a flipped car, not minding the rampaging monster wrecking the building across the street. With as much strength as his body could muster, the young demigod slammed the front of his shield against the side of the car, producing a loud bang that the giant crustacean could hear past the sound of its own tantrum.

"OVER HERE YOU IDIOT! GET OVER IT, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU COULD SEE ANYTHING WITH SUCH SMALL EYES ANYWAY!"

With a roar of anger, Karkinos thundered to where it had heard the annoying shout. Percy smirked, and when the beast was only a few meters away, threw his pen right into its empty eye socket. Raising his arm, the psychokinetic took control of his pen and uncapped it, turning it into a sword somewhere inside the monster's head.

The reaction was instant. Wallowing in pain, Karkinos' rampage only increased in intensity, but Percy could only sigh in relief. Its anger was a good thing, that meant it was just a matter of time before the whole ordeal was over.

He moved his arm around, trying to mess up as much of the monster's brain as possible. One of Karkinos' pincers headed toward him with frightening speed and, not having anywhere to run, he jumped and landed right on it. Percy held on to the claw with an iron grip, not wanting to get shaken off his impromptu ride, least he break his neck on the fall. The pincer swung upwards, and Percy found himself slipping off. Fortunately for him, he landed right on the monster's wide head, taking a fall ten feet less than what he'd expected.

Without another thought, Percy continued his attack on Karkinos' brain, his arm movements becoming hasty and uncontrolled. Finally, the great monster started slowing down, and with victory so close, Percy tried pulling back his sword. He heard a thumping sound underneath his feet, and it only gave him more motivate, so he pulled even harder. With a great crack, a small hole broke out from Karkinos' shell, and Riptide flew out of it and right into Percy's hands. The great beast groaned one final time, and with a poof, exploded into a big pile of golden dust that the demigod softly landed on.

Percy stood up, capped his sword, and brushed himself off, looking around the ruined remains of Erie city. Fortunately, the destruction had been contained to about four blocks, but it was easy to see how much money would take to fix everything. The young demigod sighed in relief when he saw that no one was around, all the mortals having run away. As far as he knew, his powers weren't inherited from his godly parent, but created innately, so the Mist would've done nothing to hide it. All thoughts were erased from his mind when he felt another presence in the area.

The young demigod twisted around, sword and shield raised for battle, but instead of a bloodthirsty monster, he found himself looking at a beautiful woman. She was wearing golden robes that appeared far too silky to be made out of silk, and had her chocolate-brown hair done up in a braid with equally gold ribbons. Even stranger than the woman's fashion sense was Percy's reaction to her sudden appearance. Instead of threatening her, the psychokinetic slowly put his weapons down without even realizing it. Percy felt like they had a kind of... connection. He couldn't place what the feeling was, as he'd never felt it before, but for some reason the thought of hurting the strange lady made him feel sick, so he questioned her instead.

"Uh... Who're you, lady?"

The woman smiled kindly at him. "I am sorry if I scared you with my appearance. My name is Hera, goddess of family, marriage, motherhood, and women."

Percy nodded, mostly to himself. _'Well that explains how she sneaked up on me like that,' _he thought, '_and it also explains why I feel this way. She __**is**__ the goddess of family and all that. Maybe... is this what it feels like to have a mother?'_

Hera looked slightly perplexed. "You do not seem very surprised at who I am," she stated, though Percy could tell it was directed more as a question.

The young demigod shrugged, pointing at the mountain of golden dust being dispersed by the stormy winds. "I just killed a giant crab-monster-thing, and it's _still_ not the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. It'll take a lot more than a goddess showing up to surprise me."

Hera's smile returned. "Ah yes, Karkinos. That is actually the reason I am here. You see, she belonged to me."

Percy's eyes widened. "Wh-What? That thing was a girl!?"

Hera gave him a deadpanned expression, and the young demigod attempted to correct his mistake, least he incur the wrath of an Olympian. "I, uh, I mean... Oh no! That thi- _She_ was yours!? I'm sorry I killed it- her! Really, it's just that, y'know, it was destroying a city, and it kind of attacked me and my friends, and-"

Hera raised her hand, and Percy immediately stopped his babbling. With silent relief, he saw that the goddess of motherhood didn't look angry, or even annoyed, but amused. "I understand your actions, my dear," she spoke softly, "In fact, I approve of them. Karkinos, bless her soul, was wrestled from my control and sent here to attack you and your two companions. Now that she has been eliminated, I can again place her amongst the stars where she belongs. So I thank you, Perseus Jackson."

Said boy resisted a grimace when she uttered his full name. He'd never liked his full name, even if it was the name of a legendary hero. _'Woah, stop!'_ he thought to himself. _'No getting distracted now, there's a freaking goddess thanking you! Say something!'_

"Uh, you're welcome. I guess."

The goddess didn't seem to mind his lack of articulation. "I am in your debt now," she told him, and he had to force himself not to let his jaw drop to the floor. An _Olympian_ owed him a favor. The things he could do with-"so if there is anything I can do to help you along your quest, please feel free."

Percy, after getting himself back in order, realized how great of an opportunity he'd just been presented with. "We need a way West," he muttered to himself, though Hera clearly heard him. With a few more seconds of thought, Percy looked up and met the goddess in the eyes. "Can you give us a ride? We only have about five days left, so something fast would be nice. Also," Percy scratched his cheek, slightly embarrassed, "please make it something that we won't have to drive, because we're not really old enough yet."

Hera placed her hand on her chin. "Something fast, you say?" she rubbed her chin in thought, and then her eyes lightened up. "I know the perfect thing!" With a wave of her hand, Hera turned the golden dust scattered throughout the battle field back into Karkinos, and the giant crab could only glance around in confusion. With a yelp, Percy raised his sword, dreading having to fight the crustacean monster once more, but Hera just laughed. "Do not worry Perseus, I've made sure to keep Karkinos in check. She won't attack you." Willing to trust the goddess, but still perturbed at the sight of the giant beast, Percy lowered his weapon again, his body still tense in case anything happened.

Hera just smiled at the demigod. "I am sure you have seen how fast she can go, correct? She will take you to California with plenty of time to spare." All of a sudden, the sound of thunder filled the sky. The goddess of marriage glanced up in annoyance, and looked back to Percy apologetically. "I suppose it is time for me to go, you know how those ancient laws can be."

Just as she was about to leave, Percy called out to her. The goddess turned around in confusion, and Percy looked down at his feet, an uncomfortable lump forming in his throat. "I just need to know something," he said. "Do you know... Can you tell me who my mother is? Is she still alive somewhere?"

Hera stared into his desperate eyes with sorrow. "I am sorry, but your mother has long passed."

Percy looked away, tears building up on his eyes. He rubbed them away with his arm, not wanting to show such weakness in the presence of the goddess. "It's alright..." he said, holding back a sob, "not like it mattered anyway. I never knew her before, so what if I can't ever do it at all?" From the way he spoke, it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than the goddess in front of him. "Listen... Thanks a lot for this," he said, trying to change the subject. "I don't get it though, I mean, you're being pretty nice. I thought you hated demigods."

Hera didn't try to go back to the subject of his mother, and instead smiled knowingly. "Yes, I suppose I carry a great dislike for most. But you and I both know how different you are from the rest. Good luck on your quest Perseus, and please take care of Karkinos. You might want to close your eyes for this next part."

Percy did so, and felt a strong light touch his face. When he reopened his eyes a moment later, Hera was gone.

* * *

Annabeth woke up with a headache. She grabbed her head and sat up, groaning at the pains of her healed wounds. The slight bumping of the ground wasn't helping matters either.

Eyes still closed, the daughter of Athena thought back to everything that had happened before she awoke. There had been the giant crab, then Percy's stupid plan, and then she'd been crushed by a pair of claws.

Wait, what?

Annabeth opened her grey eyes and was met by the faces of Percy and Grover, both looking over her in concern. When she appeared fine enough, Percy smirked. "You know, you make this really easy for me, Snow White."

With a scoff, Annabeth pushed him out of the way and attempted to stand up, noting that the sky was still covered in dark clouds before immediately stumbling back down. "Wha..." That's when she saw it. "Are we..."

Grover arrived at her side. "Annabeth? Don't freak out, okay? We're... Uh... kind of riding the giant crab."

It took a few seconds to register Grover's words, but when she did Annabeth sighed. "Why are we riding the giant crab?"

"Percy and Grover looked at each other. "Kind of a long story, but that's not important right now," the psychokinetic said. "Seriously though, you alright? We could get some more ambrosia for you..."

"No, I'm fine," Annabeth said, choosing to leave the 'riding-on-a-giant-crab-story' for later. "How long will it take for us to get to L.A.?"

Grover smiled. "About three days. Can you believe how fast this thing is? Three days and this'll all be over."

Percy shook his head with a smile of his own. Truthfully, he was kind of enjoying the quest, deadly battles only halfway excluded, but a happy Grover was always better than a scared Grover.

The three sat down on Karkinos' shell, finally being able to relax after a long day of fighting. Percy looked over at Annabeth, and guilt rose up in him.

"Hey Annabeth," he said, and the blonde looked surprised for only a second. It was strange hearing him call her by her actual name. "I'm sorry that you got hurt like that. If I hadn't of made that stupid plan you wouldn't of needed ambrosia in the first place."

Annabeth smiled, pleased that Percy was at least trying to be nice for once, and if _he_ of all people was going to be cordial then she figured she could as well. "It's okay... It wasn't _that_ bad of a plan."

Grover perked up. Maybe the two demigods were finally burying the hatchet?

"Nah, it was the worst plan ever."

"Oh, will you just take the compliment!?"

"What!? I'm just telling the truth!"

"It wouldn't of been such a bad plan if you actually had an I.Q. level!"

"At least I don't have to always rely on how smart I am!"

"Thank the gods for that!"

"I say one nice thing-!"

The satyr sighed. Of course that had been too much to hope for.

* * *

**AN:**

**Yeah, I'm late. You can blame it on school, Pokemon: Fire Red, and general procrastination. Seriously though, this is gonna stop. I'm turning a new leaf here, that means paying more attention in class, not doing my homework at the last second, and writing more of this story. Anyway, this chapter's the first full action chapter I've ever written, and I honestly think it didn't turn out too bad.**

**Our heroes only have five days left until the end of the world. Can they make it in time, or will they get sucked into a whole other set of problems? Find out next time!**

**... And now onto other things. Basically, Percy has a power, and then a whole set of sub-powers that derive from it. I don't think any of you are actually confused by what's going on there (not questioning your intelligence), but I wanted to at least document it somewhere so there aren't any misconceptions.**

**Percy has psychokinesis (PK), or the power to control atoms with his mind. That means he can pretty much destroy anyone if he ever gets powerful enough. Thing is, he's just starting to discover his abilities, therefore he only has a limited around of knowledge, experience, and skill to work with. Note that psychokinesis is NOT a demigod power gotten from inheritance, meaning that all the rules relating such powers have no effect on psychokinesis. Here's what he can do so far:**

**Telekinesis: It was the first and easiest one to learn. Basically, he's controlling inanimate objects through their atoms. Nothing really fancy about it.**

**Geokinesis: He controls the earth itself. This is different from telekinesis in that he literally shapes and forms the ground to fit his needs. Obviously, Percy hasn't reached its full potential yet, only being able to do it in small quantities (in comparison to, say, making a pit of quicksand).**

**Hydrokinesis: The control of water through its atoms. This is harder to do than various other forms of psychokinesis, as the atoms in liquids move around much more than in solids.**

**Biokinesis: The power over body through mind. Percy can affect his body and its functions with various chemical reactions done through his atoms. So far, he can only do some limited muscle and sense enhancement, but its full potential has yet to be reached. It requires an intimate knowledge of anatomy to master, as you wouldn't want to accidentally blind yourself for life when you just wanted to increase your sight. It is also the only sub-power directly acknowledged and named by the characters in the story.**

**Gyrokinesis: The only power that relates to the mastery over atoms themselves, instead of using atoms to take control of something else. As of yet, Percy can only make a cluster of atoms that give off a repulsive force strong enough to 'push' his target away, but believe me when I say that this has the most untapped potential of any of the other powers, even the ones that haven't been revealed yet. It's unfortunate that it is also the most difficult power to master, so you won't see Percy destabilizing the Earth's magnetic field anytime soon. Or ever.**

**And that's that.**


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Percy Jackson, or anything else copyrighted. I'm not A freaking millionaire here.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Fight for Glory**

_"... the storm, which has started to be identified as 'The Great U.S. Blackout' continues to baffle meteorologists all over the world. For eight days, dark storm clouds have covered the skies of all forty-eight mainland states, centering on Los Angeles, California, where an electromagnetic anomaly has sieged the entire city, trapping everyone inside and keeping all others out. It is advised that all residents of Los Angeles stay indoors and wait for help as the government does all it can to find a way inside the electrical barrier. In other news, investigations have made headway into the Erie Tank attack..."_

Percy sighed, dipping another chicken finger into his honey mustard sauce. Grover and Annabeth shared his sentiment, and all three slumped against the cushiony seats of their table.

The quest members had gotten hungry, and luckily spotted a small diner on the side of the street. They 'parked' Karkinos right outside, and ordered their food with high spirits. The three had been making good time, getting all the way to Iowa in about a day, but their good fortune seemed to stop when the news made a report on Zeus' recent tantrum. Apparently, the current storm was a bigger deal than they'd made it out be, and even worse, L.A. was completely blocked off, meaning they'd need another way into the city.

Of course, all of that was without even mentioning the whole 'mysterious hooded man that can find them anywhere in the world' thing, but that wasn't really important right then. Plus, Percy felt like he had a pretty good idea of who it was...

The young demigod sighed. "So what now, Cinderella?"

Annabeth tried giving him a glare, but she wasn't really into it. "I don't know. Maybe there are some tunnels leading into the city from outside?"

Percy shook his head. "The lady on the news said that all underground entrances were 'mysteriously' blocked off. Looks like Hades doesn't want anyone getting in the middle of his fight with Zeus either."

Grover nibbled on the straw of his vanilla milkshake, biting off the end. After swallowing the plastic, his eyes brightened up. "Hey, maybe Karkinos can take us in? She has a really strong shell, so we could hide under her while she takes us through."

Percy shrugged his shoulders, but Annabeth scoffed. "Grover," she said, picking up a french fry, "it's an electromagnetic field, meaning that it's pretty much a cloud of lightening. Even if her shell was somehow made out of rubber, it would still get in her eyes."

Percy gulped down his chicken with a snicker. "You know G-man, Karkinos is pretty cool, but she can't do everything. I think you're giving your girlfriend too much credit."

Annabeth tried and failed to keep a smile out of her face as Grover spluttered.

After getting over the fact that she had tried to chop him in half with her claws, Grover came to enjoy the big crustacean, so much so that they had conversed throughout the whole trip. Neither of his two quest-mates understood how he did it, since Karkinos was technically a monster and the satyr could only talk to animals, but it didn't stop them from teasing him about it relentlessly.

"She's a giant crab, and I'm a satyr! It could never work out!"

Annabeth covered her mouth while Percy almost choked on his food. Grover seemed to realize how his statement could've been interpreted, and waved his hands frantically in front of him. "Woah, hey! I didn't mean it like that! I swear!"

Percy would've said more, but at that moment the waitress came to their table with the check. "That'll be twenty-two, fifty nine," she said, handing the slip of paper to Annabeth, who had already taken out the required money. Before the blonde could hand it over, the door to the diner opened loudly.

The most imposing man Percy had ever seen in his life walked in. He was at least six feet tall, his black, spiked up hair only adding to his height. The man wore ripped jeans, leather boots that came up to mid calf, and a leather jacket as black as his sunglasses. Everyone in the diner seemed to stop and stare, but the man merely glared back, and the few customers went back to silently eating their food.

The man walked over to their table and sat down next to a pale Grover, who refused to cast even a glance at the intimidating figure. The man looked up at the waitress and smirked. "I've got it," he said, and handed her a golden drachma.

The waitress hesitantly took the offered coin and looked back at the man questioningly. "Uh... Sorry sir, but I don't know what this is."

The man lowered his sunglasses, revealing glowing red orbs and a slight frown of annoyance. "It's good. Trust me."

The waitress quickly nodded and sped away, casting a concerned glance at the three children still sitting with the threatening man. The man just chuckled and turned back to the three quest-mates, only to be met with Grover's shaking form, Annabeth's wary gaze, and Percy's furrowed brow.

"So," the man said, his smirk only widening, "I'm sure you've already guessed, but I'm Ares, god of war. Give me the respect I deserve and we won't have any problems, alright?"

Percy rolled his eyes. What was up with gods getting in the middle of his quest? "Is there a reason you came here, or did you just wanna give us an exaggerated entrance?"

As Grover paled even further, Ares merely fixed the young demigod with his smirk, which Percy was quickly starting to find incredibly annoying. "Well, no quest is complete without a little firebrand. I'm guessing all you're good for is being a smartass?"

The psychokinetic would've usually shrugged off such a comment, but for some reason he just couldn't get over that stupid smirk. He knew that Ares was egging him on, and that in a real fight against the war god he'd be decimated, but even so...

Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder, and Percy snapped out of his anger-induced trance. Shaking his head, the young demigod avoided Ares' eyes, deducing that the glowing red orbs were the cause of his attitude change.

"Lord Ares," Annabeth started respectfully, and Percy held back his snort, "is there something you want to tell us?"

"Of course there is, otherwise I wouldn't be here would I?" The god of war shifted his gaze to Annabeth. The blonde flinched, but otherwise kept her composure, which caused Ares' smirk to widen. The god reached into a pocket on his leather jacket and took out a map of Iowa. He then drew an 'x' on a spot somewhere with a red sharpie and circled another.

"This," he said, pointing at the red circle, "is where we're at right now, and this," his finger drew a path to the 'x', "is where you have to go. You'll find a cave there, and all you have to do is make sure to leave it empty. Questions?"

Percy almost raised his hand, but harshly reminded himself that this was the war god telling him what to do, not Chiron in one of his lectures. "Yeah, I've got one. Why should we do anything you say? We're kind of busy with something more important than checking out some random cave. Couldn't you do it yourself, y'know, since you're a god and everything?"

Ares' smirk dropped, and Annabeth tensed next to him, but Percy didn't care. There was no way he'd get bossed around by anyone for no reason, god of war included. He couldn't glare directly into Ares' eyes, but he'd make sure to burn a hole through his forehead by the time they left.

"Kid," the god said, a hard edge in his tone, "you'll do it because I'm telling you to. Plus, I might be willing to give you a clue on how to get past daddy's little cloud ball." At this, both of his quest-mates perked up, but the psychokinetic still didn't look very persuaded. He was just stubborn like that.

Ares sighed in annoyance. "If you can't accept that, then at least do it to prove yourself." Percy's frown lessened only for a second, but Ares was able to catch the young demigod's hesitation. "That's what you want, isn't it? Sure, you could be on this quest to save the world or whatever you want to call it, but at the end of the day you and I both know the _real_ reason you're here. Recognition."

Grover gripped the table hard, his knuckles turning as white as his face, while Annabeth glanced worriedly between Percy and Ares. The young demigod was deathly silent, his glare still present, but his unfocused eyes clearly revealing that he was in a deep inner-struggle. Meanwhile, the war god's nasty smirk had returned, more amused than anything else. "You're pretty transparent, you know that? Just take it," the god held out the folded up map, "after all, the path to glory can only get shorter."

Tense silence seemed to fill the diner as Percy and Ares looked at each other, one angry and unsure, the other pleased and knowing. Finally, the psychokinetic reached out and took the map, stuffing it in his own pocket. Without another word, he stood up and walked out the door, his companions following behind, and the malicious laughter of the war god filling his thoughts.

* * *

"We're here."

Annabeth and Grover glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. It had only been an hour or two since their meeting with Ares, but with Karkinos' help the three had been able to find the small cave marked on their map fairly quickly. It really did seem pretty small, the entrance being low enough that they had to crouch down to fit inside.

Grover stepped up next to Percy, and hesitantly tapped him on the shoulder. The young demigod turned to face his friend expectantly. "Uh... Percy?" the satyr spoke out, trying his best not to stutter. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been really... um..."

"Really quiet," Annabeth finished, hands on her hips in a way that vaguely reminded the psychokinetic of Katie. "You usually can't keep your mouth shut. I thought I'd like the silence, but it's starting to get weird, so what's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong," Percy assured her, though she noticed that he refused to meet her eyes. "Let's just get this stupid thing over with."

The three walked inside, making sure to crouch low so as to not hit their heads. Annabeth looked around the dark space, eyes searching for anything out of the ordinary. When nothing was found, the blonde got close to her two companions.

"Alright," she whispered, "let's look around, see if-"

"Helloooooo! Anyone here!?"

The daughter of Athena palmed her face, still not used to the boy with apparently no regard for self-preservation. "You could stand to be a little more quiet you know," she said, not bothering to speak silently, as her teammate had ruined any use of stealth on their part.

Percy gave her a lopsided smile. "I thought you were just complaining about how quiet I was being. Make up your mind, Rapunzel."

"That's not what I meant," Annabeth sighed, but the light bursting forth from a tunnel on the other side of the cave ended her complaint before it really began.

"Halt! Who dares trespass on my territory?"

Grover took a step back. "We're just about to leave, promise!" The satyr turned around, but Percy took ahold of the back of his collar, stopping the cowardly goat-boy in his tracks.

"Look man, it's nothing personal, but we're in a bit of a hurry here so let's just skip the fighting and go right to the part where you run away, cool?" Percy exclaimed. The light started getting closer, and the young demigod unsheathed his sword. "Okay then, can't say I didn't try."

The light got brighter and brighter until there was a man holding a lantern at the entrance of the tunnel. He was wearing white sheets over a single shoulder, making him look like he actually came from Ancient Greek times. He was also old. Like, really old. His beard was long enough to reach his hip, and he had enough wrinkles to cover the fact that he was extremely skinny. Even weirder, instead of the stern or threatening expression they were expecting, the man had a joyous smile on his face. "Hah, just kidding! Come, come, I've got some stew cooking up!"

The man then turned around and went back the way he came, leaving the three quest members to stare in confusion. Percy reached for his pocket. "I say we just beat him up and leave. Anyone with me?"

Annabeth scoffed, and Grover shook his head in exasperation. They both followed after the man, leaving Percy no other choice but to go along with them.

Percy walked up next to the man, noting how obscenely long the underground passage was. After a few minutes of walking, the four reached an old wooden door. The man opened it and ushered the kids inside a big room lighted by candles, then insisted that they sit down. Deciding to take the diplomatic approach, the young demigod tapped the elder on the shoulder. "Uh... Old man?"

Annabeth groaned along with Grover, but said old man didn't seem to mind the disrespectful title. "Yes, is there something you need?" he said, a wide smile still plastered on his face.

"Do you... Do you live here, in this cave?" The man nodded enthusiastically, and Percy scratched his cheek, not sure of how to proceed. "Yeah, well... Thing is, we kinda need you to-"

"Of course! You kids look hungry, I'll go get the stew!"

The man left to some other part of the underground abode, leaving the three companions alone. After an awkward silence, Grover spoke up. "So anyone know what's going on? I'm lost here."

Both Percy and Annabeth shrugged, but any further conversation was interrupted by the return of their temporary host. "Here you go," he said, placing three bowls on the table in front of them. The three friends looked at each other and then back at the old man. "Well what are you waiting for? Eat up!" he cackled, his goofy smile still present. Annabeth kept staring at her stew suspiciously, but Percy and Grover just shrugged and dug in...

... only to immediately spit out the boiling hot soup. Grover started panting rapidly, and Percy banged his fist hard against the stone table. "Ah, crap!" he shouted, holding his now throbbing pinkie finger. He glared at the old man. "You jackass, how long has that been cooking for!?"

The man giggled, which came out as extremely abnormal. "Oh, I don't know," he tapped a finger on his chin, and then shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly. "I've lost count, you see. There haven't been many visitors in a long time, after all!"

Grover finished his panting, looking at Annabeth with a pained expression. "I don dink I can deel my dongue," he stated.

The blonde looked down at her own bowl once more, before lightly pushing it away from her. "I'm not really that hungry anyway."

"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" the man asked, twirling his body in a circle and gesturing around the room. "Business? Or perhaps..." He walked behind Annabeth. "... pleasure?"

Annabeth froze on her seat. "Oh my gods. You were right Percy, let's just beat him up and get out of here!"

"Business! We're here for business," Percy hurriedly told the man. "Look, Mr..."

"Christian Peters, my boy!"

"Mr. Peters," the young demigod continued. "Thanks for the stew and everything, but we didn't come here for that. To tell you the truth, we didn't even know anyone was here."

"Ah, glorious!" Christian said. "To think that even after all these years, no one has found me. Well, no one apart from you three." He clasped his hands together, jumping up and down like a kid who just got a new toy. "Oh, how glad I am, to not have to hear from those controlling gods!"

Grover looked taken back. "Waid, yoo're a demigod?"

"Yes, yes, quite so! In fact, back in my day, I was the greatest of them all!"

Annabeth lifted up her head in shock. "Wait a minute... You mean you're _the_ Christian Peters!? Slayer of the Chimera? The Great Doom Breaker?"

Grover's eyes widened, but Percy cocked his head. "Doom Breaker? Is that some new kind of candy?"

Annabeth turned to her confused friend. "No! Doom Breaker, as in stopped doom itself! He defeated Moros, the spirit of doom and brother to the Fates!"

"Really?" Percy gave Christian a reevaluating look, but only found an old, barefoot guy wearing white bed sheets. "You sure about that? I don't really see it."

His blonde quest-mate was still looking at Christian, almost reverently, but somehow kept enough composure to hear Percy's comment. "It makes too much sense. His name, his age... everything." Annabeth blinked, and seemed to snap out of her daze, giving the old man an inquiring look. "There's something I don't understand though. You disappeared fifty years ago, but why? Not even Chiron really knows, and he's the one who trained you."

"Chiron! My old friend, I sure hope he's doing alright," Christian said. "Why did I leave? Well, for fear of course! They called me Doom Breaker, the strongest half-blood in centuries. The gods grew paranoid, as they always do, and feared my power. So I hid, and here I am now, fifty years later! Would you like more stew?"

Grover gagged, and all three quickly shook their heads, much to the old demigod's disappointment. "Wait a sec," Percy said, "so you just up and left? Apparently, you were like the Chuck Norris of demigods. You were... respected. Looked up to." The young demigod crossed his arms. "How'd you just leave it all behind like that?"

Christian cackled, not in madness like he usually did, but in amusement. "Oh, to be young again. Ah..." the old man drifted off, eyes glazed over. The three quest members shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Uh... Christian? You were saying something?" Percy said, scratching his cheek. Their eccentric host finally snapped out of his trance, and looked them all over with wide eyes, appearing to remember where he was and what he was doing.

"Hm? Ah, yes! Excuse me, I was just reliving old times..." he said, voice low and solemn. It didn't last long though, because he went right back to his cheery self. "Well anyway, you'll see that there are more important things than glory and honor, primarily your life!"

Percy became silent after that. _'As weird as he is, that's a pretty good point,'_ he thought. _'I guess none of that stuff really matters when you die. But until then...'_ The young demigod stood up, ignoring the memory in his head about someone warning him not to do exactly what he was about to do. He pointed a finger at Christian Peters, the Great Doom Breaker, the strongest demigod in centuries, and the man who had managed to hide from the gods for fifty years.

"Fight me, old man!"

* * *

The two opponents stood at opposite sides of the room, one in intense concentration, and the other with a goofy smile. Christian still wore his sheets, but was now wielding a celestial bronze sword. It was long and bulky, the simpleness of it only highlighting its weight. Somehow, the man held his weapon with incredible ease, despite his thin structure.

Annabeth and Grover stood by the sidelines, both with worried looks on their faces. "It's only been one day!" the satyr whispered. "One day and he gets into another fight. He actually asked for it too! What's the deal?"

Annabeth shrugged, though her calculating eyes betrayed any sense of ignorance. "I guess he's just really that arrogant," she told her friend, her voice uncertain. "Hey, what ever happened to that water sprayer? I though you were supposed to use it in a situation like this."

Grover sighed. "Well yeah, but believe it or not I dropped it on the way here. It was kind of weird though, like it jumped out of my hand. I guess my fingers were more slippery than I thought."

The daughter of Athena hummed, seemingly mulling over a thought. "Yeah, I'm sure that's why. Must've been the butter. That _was_ a lot of butter."

"Don't judge me on how I like my enchiladas!" Grover huffed. "And It was only like five cups!"

"You used all of our butter, Grover."

"Five really big cups!"

Meanwhile, Percy and Christian were still having a semi-intense stare-off. "So how 'bout a deal, old man?" the young demigod said, almost forgetting the whole point of being there in the first place. "If I win, you have to pack your bags and move out."

Christian appeared excited at the coming fight, so he merely nodded enthusiastically. "And if I win? What have you to offer?"

Percy thought of anything safe enough to bet with. _'My pack of Skittles? No way. My shield? As if. What else do I have?'_

"Percy!"

Said boy looked over to Annabeth, who gave him a meaning look. "Just bet your sword. Not like you'll lose it anyway, right?"

Hearing this, Christian chuckled maniacally. "What's this? You show a hefty amount of confidence for one so young. Fine, if you really feel like losing such a fine blade, be my guest!"

The psychokinetic smiled mischievously, mentally thanking Annabeth for her trickery. Riptide wasn't famous, which was good, because it meant that the older demigod didn't know about it's unique magic. _'Even if I lose, I still keep all my stuff. Not bad, princess.'_

"Alright, if you win, you get my sword, but you still have to move out. Seriously, we're kind of in the middle of something important."

"Fine, fine!" Christian accepted, now impatiently tapping his foot. "I can always just find another cave plenty of those out there, now let's begin already! I haven't felt the adrenaline of battle in so long, I can hardly wait!" Percy nodded, and got into the fighting stance ingrained into his brain through hours of blood, sweat, and tears. Christian merely stood there, sword dangling on his shoulder, his cheesy smile brighter than ever.

The psychokinetic decided to go all out right away, and charged the legendary hero, sword raised and eyes blazing. If Christian was at all surprised by his speed, he didn't show it, and instead pivoted his foot and twisted around Percy's charge. The young demigod, not being ready for such a simple maneuver, barely corrected himself before he could tumble down to the ground. He slashed at Christian, and the older man dodged his attack with seemingly no effort.

What followed next was the most pathetically one-sided fight either Annabeth or Grover had ever seen. As fast as Percy was, he just couldn't seem to land any kind of damage on Christian, who was able to bend, twist, and shift his way around all of the psychokinetic's attacks. The old man hadn't even lifted up his sword, or tried to attack in any way, apparently happy to just dodge for as long as Percy kept up the offensive.

Several minutes passed, and Percy was getting tired. He had been giving it his all, going through his forms and techniques as fast and perfectly as possible, but even so, Christian's ridiculous smile didn't so much as twitch. Even with his impressive stamina, the young demigod just couldn't keep it up for much longer. He'd used his biokinetic powers to his limit, going beyond what his body could ever do before. He had subtly shifted the ground under his opponent, trying to catch him off guard. He'd even tried to blast him with a repulsive palm, but hadn't been able to get his hand anywhere close to the Doom Breaker. It seemed like no matter what he did, Christian was always one step ahead.

_'He's just playing with me,'_ Percy realized when Christian moved his head out of the way of his slice at the last second. Frustration was replaced by shock. _'He's playing around and there's nothing I can do about it. This guy's like ten Lukes combined.'_ Even so, he refused to give up, not willing to sacrifice the little pride he had left.

Finally, just when his muscles were screaming and his legs were wobbling, Christian's smile turned hard. The old man lifted his sword, and Percy found himself laying on his back a second later. Christian shook his head, casting a disappointed gaze down at him. "I though I'd at least get a good work-out after all these years, but it seems you can't even do that." He reached down and plucked Riptide out of Percy's hand, capping the sword and turning it into a pen that he stuffed somewhere under his robes. "I'll be taking that, as per our agreement." The legendary man proceeded to walk away, waving a cheerful goodbye to Annabeth and Grover as he neared the exit to the cave.

Percy watched him go, and despite all of his defiance and stubbornness, no amount of effort could get his body to work. _'That... That was pathetic,'_ he thought, stunned at such a bad loss. _'Damn it. Damn it!'_ What had he been expecting? This was a legend, a man who had defeated a god, and he was just some kid. As strong as his powers could be, he obviously didn't know how to use them properly. If only he had been stronger, if only he had mastery over his complicated powers, if only...

Suddenly, the young demigod found himself on his feet, being supported by his two companions. Grover, holding his right arm behind his black, shrugged and grinned. "I'll admit, that was pretty bad, but don't worry about it. You've only been training for what, two weeks? He's a legend for a reason." Annabeth merely nodded, and Percy found himself smiling back, his doubts and disappointments starting to melt away. _'I didn't win, but...'_ His eyes set themselves on Christian Peters, who was walking slowly out of the underground room. He glanced at the two standing at his side. _'I guess it doesn't really matter.'_ They stood there, and Percy couldn't help but think of how his life was like before Camp Half-Blood, when he didn't have any friends, and the on.y attention he ever got was the fear and anger of others. _'If they could see me now...'_

Not that he could leave things at that. "Hey, old man!"

Christian turned around, the first signs of surprise Percy had seen from the man on his face. The young demigod pointed a finger at him again. "I might've lost this time, but you better believe that next time we fight, I'll win for sure! I'll make my own legend, and then we'll see who's is better!"

The Doom Breaker impassively looked at the impudent kid being supported by the blonde girl and the satyr. The young demigod had eyes burning with confidence, and right then and there, Christian knew that his words weren't merely a way of saving face. His statement was a promise, one that he'd do anything to complete. Christian smiled, not goofily, but really, sincerely smiled. "There are more important things than glory and honor," he recited once more, getting a confused stare from the children. Turning back around, the old man continued his exit. "I suppose you're getting there. I'll be waiting!" The last they heard from him was a cackling laugh, and when they tried to follow him out, he was gone.

* * *

As Ares never said where they should go after completing their task, the three companions found themselves heading back to the diner on their giant crab escort. Grover sat up front, where he could easily converse with Karkinos without suffering the ridicule of his friends, who were both further down the crustacean's shell.

Percy was laying down on his back, resting with his arms behind his neck. It had only taken a few minutes after Christian left for the young demigod to feel the familiar lump of his sword reappear in his pocket, and he couldn't help but smirk when it happened. It seemed that even the strongest of people could be played like fools, and it felt good to at least win at something.

Annabeth was next to him, leaning against her elbows. Neither had said anything since leaving the cave, which was strange, because it usually didn't take that long for them to start an argument. _'Well, I'm not complaining,' _thought the psychokinetic, closing his eyes. _'She's getting way too good at it for my tastes. Stupid Athena genes, it's like she always knows what to say.'_

"We need to talk."

Opening one eye, Percy gave her a bored stare. "I guess. Start talking then."

"Just how stupid do you think I am?" the blonde asked, arms crossed, her face twisted in irritation.

_'Well that was fast,'_ the young demigod thought. He sat up, eyes furrowed in confusion. "What? I haven't even said anything yet."

"You didn't have to say anything, because you obviously have no respect for my intellect."

"So? I barely have any respect for anybody."

"That's besides the point!" Annabeth huffed. "When were you going to tell us about your powers?"

Percy gulped, a bead of sweat dripping down his face. She knew? How? Since when? "Uh..." He struggled for any way to save the situation. "I don't know what you're talking about?"

His blonde friend presented him with the most deadpan expression he'd ever seen on anyone, which impressive considering how many people had looked at him that way. There was no use trying to fight it, so Percy threw his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay! Sorry, alright? If it makes you feel any better, you're the only one who's figured it out." Except for Katie, of course, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He wasn't the only one with an ego, after all.

Annabeth seemed satisfied enough, and Percy sighed in relief, glad that he wouldn't have to go through another quarrel. "How'd you find out anyways? No one else coulda told you."

The daughter of Athena rolled her eyes. "It wasn't too hard. I mean, when you see someone throw their shield around like a boomerang you know something's going on." Percy scratched his cheek sheepishly, and Annabeth continued. "Then there's Grover, who conveniently dropped the water sprayer used to keep you in line-"

"Percy Jackson bows to no cleaning supply!"

"-and let's not forget about that one time when you asked me a 'hypothetical question' about controlling other people. I mean, really? Did you really expect me to think that was normal?"

"Okay, I get it!" Percy exclaimed. "I'll never doubt your intellectual prowess again, oh wise one!"

A satisfied smile formed on the young girl's face. "That's all I wanted to hear. Now, what are your powers?

* * *

By the time they reached the diner, Percy had been able to arduously explain his psychokinesis to Annabeth, who, being the daughter of wisdom that she was, became very interested. She had asked for every detail, and Percy found himself using the limits of his vocabulary just to appease the blonde. It wasn't all that bad though, as he now finally had someone else to talk to about his abilities. Even better, as an Athena camper, Annabeth could give him ideas that he wouldn't of even thought of. Not that Katie couldn't do the same, but it was nice nonetheless.

When they entered, they found Ares sitting in the same table as before. "Brats," he greeted, the ever-present smirk still on his face.

"Jackass," Percy greeted right back, sitting down and ignoring the stern looks of his friends. The god of war was unfazed, and Percy grunted in annoyance. "Look," he said, "we did what you asked us to, so can you just tell us how to get into L.A. already?"

The war god looked like he wanted to continue the whole charade, but constantly getting disrespected by the same kid got old after a while. "You know what? Fine. I'm tired of looking at your face."

"I could say the same."

"Hmph. Alright, I'll tell you, but I'm only saying this once, so you better pay attention." Getting nods from all three quest-mates, Ares continued. "If anyone can help you out, it'll be Aeolus, you know, that wind guy. He could probably blow away the thunder cloud, at least along enough to get you inside. You'll find him on his island-"

"Aeolia?" Annabeth interrupted. "But doesn't the island float all over the states? How are we supposed to find it?"

"Hey," warned Ares, face hardened, "I can take that from this kid," he pointed at Percy, who scoffed, "because I've accepted the fact that he's a total ass-"

"Look who's talking."

"-but I won't accept any of that from you, little miss smarty-pants." Annabeth hanged her head, sheepish of her outburst. "As I was saying..." Ares said, "He lives on his floating island. It moves around, but mainly sticks to mountaintops. Last I heard, it was heading to Mt. Elbert in Colorado."

"Mt. Elbert? I've hiked up there before," Grover muttered. "It'll take us about a day to reach," he faced Ares, "can we make it in time?"

Ares shrugged. "Not my problem," he said. "You did what I told you to, and I gave you your information. As far as I can see, we're done."

Percy raised his hands in the air. "Hallelujah! C'mon guys, let's blow this popsicle stand!"

He stood up, and his exasperated friends followed after him. When both Grover and Annabeth went through the door, Percy looked back at Ares. The god looked back, and both just stared at each other for several moments. Finally, Percy stuck his hand out, giving him the finger, and walked out of the diner, closing the door behind him.

Ares chuckled to himself. "Heh, that kid's got spunk. Too bad he won't be around for much longer." He stood up and strode toward the bathroom. "Better give Aphrodite a call, it's about time we got a new private place." Opening the door, he went into a stall. "If I where anyone else, I'd probably thank them it. Huh..." Shrugging, the god disappeared, as if he was never there at all.

Back outside, the three demigods were surprised by the new green backpack resting on Karkinos' shell. Percy took off the note attached with a raised brow. "Look at this. 'To my least favorite demigod, from your favorite war god, Ares.' Huh..."

Grover sat down on his usual spot at the front. "Maybe he's not as bad as everyone thinks?" the satyr asked, opening up the package of Oreos they had found inside the bag.

Annabeth shook her head. "Nah, I'm pretty sure it's just because he doesn't want to be in our debt. He's not really... a good person," she finished, schooling her words SA respectfully as she could.

"He's a jerk," Percy said hanging the bag over his shoulder, "but at least he's an honorable jerk."

"He's constantly sleeping with someone else's wife."

"Never mind then. Whatever, let's just go already, I need a nap."

* * *

**AN:**

**I didn't really know how to do this one. I needed Ares to give them the you-know-what, because he's the one who caught you-know-who, but at the same time I didn't want to make it too similar to canon. I guess it was a necessary evil though, and I tried to make it as different as I could. Which brings us to the OC. Now before anyone starts freaking out, I assure you that he won't really play that big of a role in the story. **

**Why include him at all? Well, reading the story, I made the discovery that Percy was like, really arrogant. Not that this makes him a bad character, I actually think he's pretty likable, but I didn't want him to overdo it, so I decided to give him a reality check of sorts.**

**Why make Christian so freaking strong? Well, it makes sense if you think about it. I mean, in the books, Rick Riordan plays it off like all of the ultra strong demigod heroes (for example: Hercules, who could lift mountains for Pete's sake) died off with Ancient Greece, and that doesn't really make any sense. I just wanted to show that there ****_are_**** still legends being made, even in modern times. **

**Why make him a weirdo? To tell you the truth, I could've made him some kind of super serious badass, but that would've been boring to write, so there.**

**Oh, and that whole thing with Percy's inner struggle and all of that? Yeah, just take it however you want to. It's called character development, by the way.**

**I also liked reading what you guys had to say about my story. Some of you guessed what would happen next, or why some things happened, and to tell you the truth, most of you were just so wrong I actually laughed. Don't take it personally though, because I think it's cool that you guys are interested enough to actually try to figure out what's going on, and one of you might actually write something that gives me an idea, so I'd appreciate your feedback.**

**Will our heroes reach their destination on time? Will Aeolus even help them if they do? Find out next time!**

**'Till next time!**

**:D**


	9. Chapter 9

Don't own Percy Jackson. Not much anyone can really do about that.

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Lost and Found**

It had been a long and arduous climb, even for Grover, but the three heroes had finally been able to reach the top of Mt. Herbert. In front of them lay the icy bridge between the surface and Aeolia, the legendary floating island. The island itself was huge, as big as a football stadium and at least twice as high. The sides were made up of polished cliff faces, and the surface was covered in gardens and trees. There were several buildings poking out of the foliage, most notably the enormous bronze palace looming in the centre.

Percy tried shaking off the soreness of his legs, raising an eyebrow at the ice bridge. "No railings? Well, looks like we'll need to hold hands. C'mon guys." He held out both his hands, which were decidedly ignored.

Grover tried to cover his eyes from the sun, but ultimately gave up. "So how d-does this work?" he asked, gulping at the sight of their next challenge. "Do we just... g-go? Is there like a n-n-net or something?"

To his disappointment, Annabeth shook her head. "All we have to do is cross the bridge without falling off," she told them. "Sure it's... a bit narrow..."

Percy gave her a questioning glance, turning to look back at the bridge. Narrow may have been a bit of an understatement, especially considering that it was only about as wide as his shoe. Even worse, the storm winds were blowing with much more intensity than at the foot of the mountain, and it was a wonder how anyone before them had reached Aeolia without getting blown off.

With a sigh, he held out his hands once more. "I wasn't kidding about the holding hands thing." He gestured with his fingers, and both his companions reluctantly complied after figuring that it was better than falling to their deaths. They began, Annabeth first, then Percy, and finally Grover.

As they crossed the bridge, Grover marveled at their steady progress. "How are we n-not even losing any b-b-balance? I thought at least one of us would b-be hanging off the side at this point."

Percy and Annabeth shared a glance, twin grins on their faces. It had only been a day since Percy revealed his abilities to the blonde, but during that time she had proposed several new ways to use his powers, one of which he was using to make sure none of them fell off.

After telling her about how he concentrated atoms to expel a repulsive force, the daughter of Athena had proposed to do the opposite, and use an attractive force to stick himself to other surfaces. Not that he could stand on ceilings upside-down yet, but something like steadying himself on ice was easy enough to do. "I dunno Grover, maybe it's your hooves," Percy told the satyr. "Those things look like they'd have a pretty good grip."

Grover didn't say anything, and when the young demigod looked at his friend, he held back a snort at the satyr's attempts to not look down. Annabeth seemed to be doing fine enough, whether because she wasn't particularly scared of heights or because she trusted his skills, he could only guess. As for Percy himself? Well...

"Woah, what _is_ that!?"

Both Annabeth and Grover reflexively set their eyes to the long drop below, and Percy slightly loosened his grip on their hands. His two companions yelled out, desperately clinging to his arms. The psychokinetic laughed, ignoring Annabeth's stern glare and Grover's hyperventilation.

* * *

It hadn't taken too long to cross the ice bridge, but the real challenge began on the island of Aeolia itself. Once they passed under the extravagant opening archway, which was made of some strange purple marble, none of the quest-members knew where to go. The place was full of wind nymphs, some walking around normally, but most hastily flying off somewhere, making it look like the entire island was being haunted by ghosts.

There were also many harpies, and Percy made sure to watch them _very_ carefully. He'd sneaked out of his cabin late at night to practice his water control, or Hydrokinesis as his blonde quest-mate had termed it, and it was then that he found out why everyone was so scared of sneaking out late at night. Needless to say, harpies wouldn't ever be mentioned on his list of favorite creatures.

As they strolled along the purple path, the young demigod started to get a little frustrated. "This sucks. Why can't we just go to that big castle? If Aeolus is anywhere, it'll probably be there."

Annabeth slapped him on the back of the head, eliciting a protesting grunt. "You've got to start thinking about these things," she admonished. "Even if he was there, it doesn't mean that he wants us here. We probably need to go through some office or something."

"He already knows we're here though," Percy stated, earning him a questioning gaze from his two companions. "Besides how gods know pretty much everything, he could've just dispersed the bridge if he didn't want us to find him. I remember learning that in class."

Grover seemed genuinely impressed, while Annabeth's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh yeah," she said, "I forgot about how good your memory is. It's kind of weird having you say something that shows you actually know about anything."

"Hey!" Percy shouted, irritation seeping into his voice. "I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm stupid. Sure I don't know some things, but I got all As on my report card!"

His teammates looked at each other, then at him, and then back at each other. "Huh. Sill an idiot," Annabeth said, and Grover silently nodded. The two continued walking down the path, heading to some big administration building. The psychokinetic looked on incredulously, and began to follow after them, muttering silent curses along the way.

The three quest members reached their destination, and when they opened the door, they were met with a small waiting room. The walls were blank, the only thing notable being how they were made of the same purple material that had been prevalent in the island. They made their way to the wind nymph working behind a desk, who was calmly playing a computer game.

"Uh, miss?"

The nymph ignored Annabeth, slowly carrying on with her game of solitaire. Percy nudged Grover, and the satyr stepped up. He made a big show of looking around the room, tapping his chin in exaggerated thought.

"Huh, is that a cigarette I smell?"

The nymph immediately straightened up, frantically searching the room. "A cigarette!? Who!? Where!? Wh-"

When she set her eyes on the three grinning children on the other side of her desk, her panic stopped, and the nymph could only groan. "Ugh. Really, kids? That's not funny you know, and any other nymph would probably yell at you for half an hour."

"Why don't you?"

"Eh," the nymph shrugged, "I just don't have that kind of energy. Working in a place like this can really take it out of you, y'know? Anyway, if you're here for the tour, you can sit down. The guide's coming in a few more minutes."

Percy scratched the back of his head. "There's a tour?" He turned to the empty room. "It doesn't look like you get a lot of visitors."

The nymph sighed. "Yeah, well you'd be surprised at how many demigods usually come up here. This room used to be full all the time, but a few years back, they just stopped coming. Sure, we've gotten a couple here and there, but it's pretty empty these days from what I've heard. I wouldn't really know though, I'm new."

Percy already knew what she was talking about. Who would've known that Chiron's ban on quests would affect tourism? The two demigods and satyr took their seats, still close enough that they could talk to the wind nymph. Already becoming bored, Percy decided to do just that. "So, how long have you been working here, miss...?"

"Jessica," said the nymph, and Percy could tell that she appreciated him giving her something else to do. It must've been a pretty boring job. "I actually just got hired yesterday."

Percy perked up. "Yesterday? You don't look like you're new."

She really didn't. They way she didn't seem to care about her job, or how she slumped in her seat like she'd been there for years, none of it screamed 'new job!'

"It happens all the time," Jessica told them. "Lord Aeolus is very... bipolar, I guess. He fires his employes all the time." The nymph smiled, covering her lips to hide a giggle. "What he doesn't know is that there haven't ever been any new nymphs coming in, so whenever he fires someone, he replaces them with someone else he just fired. It's a pretty inconsistent career."

"Oh. Well, you know the tour right? Like, what they show us," Annabeth asked, and Percy held back his groan. The daughter of Athena was always on task, and that was okay, but he was trying to have a conversation.

"Of course I do," Jessica responded. "Lord Aeolus doesn't just hire _anybody_ to do something." She paused at at that. "Well, he _usually_ doesn't just hire anybody. You can never really tell what's going on in his head..."

"I can see that..." Grover muttered. "Why is everything made out of that purple stuff? What is that, anyway?"

Jessica leaned her cheek against her hand. "I guess I wasn't clear when I said Lord Aeolus was bipolar, because I'm telling you, he's _really_ bipolar. That's a special kind of stone that can change color whenever he wants..."

The three conversed with the wind nymph for a few more minutes. It turned out that she was very friendly, at least after they got past her apathetic attitude. Even better, the tour they were taking part in would take them straight to Aeolus' office.

"Here she is," Jessica stated as another wind nymph entered the room. She was wearing a purple hat, purple shorts, and a purple short-sleeved shirt that said 'Ask me if I've ever been to Aeolia!'

"Hi kids! My name is Beatrice, and I'll be your guide for today!" she said, her excited voice reverberating around the room. Jessica sighed at the cheery nymph, turning back to the three quest-mates.

"Good luck on your quest. Don't worry about Lord Aeolus, he might be a little..." she searched for the word, "eccentric, but I'm sure he'll help you guys out."

The quest members stood up and followed after Beatrice, who was already heading back outside. "See ya later Jessica! Hopefully you won't get fired for at least another week!" Percy said, waving his hand in goodbye along with his two friends.

* * *

"As you can see, the Observation Deck has the best view in the entire island. Just be sure to watch your step!"

Beatrice giggled at her own joke, and the the two demigods rolled their eyes. There wasn't any point in watching their step, since the floor was all there, just made out of glass. The Observation Deck was just a big glass room bulging out of the side of the island, and it wasn't really any better of a view than they had on the ice bridge.

"G-Guys? Can we g-g-g-get out of here?"

Percy palmed his face. "Yeah G-man, let's keep going."

The group left the Observation Deck, Annabeth having to drag Grover and his wobbling legs out. They kept walking until they reached a hallway with a wall full of windows. Instead of looking outside, they revealed a gigantic room filled with... stuff. It was filled to the brim with things from all shapes and sizes, whether it be an acoustic guitar or a rolling chair. The three looked on in awe, Grover forgetting all about the treacherous height.

"What is that?" The psychokinetic asked, spotting an X-box lying on top of a bed mattress. "This room... Where'd you guys even get all this stuff?"

Beatrice beamed, a proud smile stretching across her face. "That, my little charges, is what we at Aeolia call the Lost & Found Room. As the legends say, everything lost eventually makes its way to our floating island, carried here by the wind. Isn't it wonderful?"

Grover pointed at something. "Is that a piano!? How can the wind carry a _piano_?"

Beatrice ignored him, and continued with her presentation. "As you can see," she said, pointing to something in the room. It took a few moments for Percy to find want she was pointing at, but he finally spotted the sizable square hole on the floor, right in the center of the room. "That is where everything comes in. There is a platform hanging below it, just in case anything falls off, but it is always inaccessible to the public."

Percy turned to their tour guide. "How do you go down that platform, anyway?"

Beatrice floated over to a door in the wall. "Behind this door is a ladder that leads down into the room, and from there anyone may jump down onto the platform. Of course, not you three."

Annabeth, tearing her gaze away from all the possible treasure, looked over at the nymph. "Wait a minute, why do you guys have a gaping hole under the island? There wouldn't need to be a platform under it if you just put the entrance in the side. That way there isn't any possible way for all the lost things to fall out."

Beatrice flashed her a strained smile. "That would be a good idea, honey, but I'm afraid that it wouldn't be very aerodynamic."

"Having a hole under a floating island doesn't seem very aerodynamic either."

"That's why Aeolia flies with the power of magic, child."

"Then why does it matter if it's aerodynamic or not?"

"Moving on," the wind nymph said, and she hurriedly continued on her way. Percy chuckled, holding out a fist in Annabeth's direction. With a roll of her eyes, the daughter of Athena bumped fists with him, though the smallest of smiles could be seen on her lips.

"C'mon Grover let's- Grover?" Percy sent a strange look to his satyr friend, who seemed lost in a trance. The two demigods looked to where Grover was looking, and both groaned in annoyance. "Grover, lets go man," the psychokinetic told his friend, grasping his shoulder.

"But... But it's just so beautiful," Grover muttered, and a bit of drool started forming on the edge of his mouth.

Annabeth grasped the satyr's other shoulder, and together the two demigods dragged their friend away from the window. "I know you like them Grover, but its time to go," the blonde told him.

"But-But-But-"

"No."

"Can we at least come back later?"

"No."

Grover sighed, almost sounding like he was in pain. Annabeth could only shake her head. "Can you believe him?" she asked Percy.

The young demigod shrugged his shoulders. "No, but that's what we have to put up with." He looked back. "I didn't even know there were enchilada stands. I guess you learn something new every day."

* * *

"That concludes the end of our tour!" Beatrice exclaimed, sounding almost relieved. "Now be sure to stay respectful in Lord Aeolus's presence, especially _you_," she sent a glare at Annabeth, and the blonde smiled sheepishly. The wind nymph shook her head and left, muttering something about disrespectful kids.

The three quest members were left alone, facing the big bronze doors to Aeolus' office. With a gulp, Annabeth stepped forward, placing her hand on the handle, and after a deep breath, opened the door.

The room itself was big, but pretty empty. The walls were red, changed from purple, and several paintings were hanged asymmetrically. There was also large window that almost covered the entire wall opposite of the door. The only furniture was a rainbow colored sofa facing a wooden desk, with a fancy executive chair behind said desk. Sitting on the chair was who the three could only guess was Aeolus.

He wore a blue suit that looked like the sky, with clouds somehow moving around its fabric. The god looked pretty old with his slick white hair, but his face was smooth, making Percy guess that Aeolus as one of those old people that wanted to look thirty years younger than they really were. Like any other type of plastic surgery, it was a big failure, and just made him look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

"Welcome, heroes!" The wind god exclaimed, flying out of his chair and landing right in front of them. He vigorously shook each of their hands, and then went back to take his seat. "Sit down, you three! Would any of you like something to eat?"

Sitting down on the sofa, all three quest-mates silently groaned. After Christian Peters, they'd had enough of overly excited old men offering them food. "Actually," Annabeth began, wanting to get straight to the point, "we were hoping you could do us a favor."

Suddenly, Aeolus' face twisted in rage. "You mean that the only reason you're here is to ask for a favor!? That's ALWAYS the reason people come!"

Percy's impatience had slowly been building up all day. First they had to slowly cross some stupid ice bridge, then they had gotten lost, then they had to go through some tour, and now this guy was going to get angry with them? "Yeah that's why we're here! What'd you expect, for us to come here for the _view_!? You better do what we ask you to, or else the whole world is pretty much screwed, ya hear me!?"

Annabeth and Grover could only look on in shock and panic. It was a really bad idea to snap at a god, much less demand something of them.

Unfortunately for them, Aeolus seemed to share their opinion. "LISTEN HERE KID, I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING YOU TELL ME TO DO! I COULD BLOW YOU THREE OFF THIS ISLAND WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT, SO YOU BETTER SHOW SOME DAMN RESPECT! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! FIRST ZEUS WITH HIS _GODS DAMNED_ STORM AND NOW SOME PUNKS WHO THINK THEY CAN GO AROUND LIKE THEY OWN THE PLACE!"

Annabeth desperately waved her hands, trying to calm down the wind god. "Lord Aeolus, we are so sorry, really! Please forgive him, he can get a little heated at times!"

Aeolus immediately sobered, but instead of a smile or a grimace, his face twisted into a sad frown. "It's not his fault, not really." The wind god set his tearful eyes on a perturbed Percy, who was counting his lucky stars that he hadn't been blown up. "I am sorry, child, but things in Aeolia haven't been going very well. It's hard enough to keep up with what weather the gods want, but now Zeus is hogging the entire schedule. The other gods want the weather changed to their own wishes, but Zeus is just too powerful."

Percy didn't know what to say. He'd been told that Aeolus was bipolar, but this was a bit much. "Uh... well, no problem... er, sir," he said, scratching his cheek.

Annabeth glared at Percy, who guiltily hanged his head. It's not like he was trying to make the guy sad, he just hadn't fought anyone all day, and he _really_ needed to take his frustrations out on someone. "Percy," the blonde said sternly, "I'll try to make a deal with Lord Aeolus. How about you go wait outside?"

The psychokinetic wanted to protest, but all his arguments died in his mouth when he caught Annabeth's look. With a grumble, he stood up and walked out of the door.

Closing the big bronze door, Percy wondered what he could do now. It would take a decent amount of time for Annabeth and Grover to finish, and there was no way he would spend it just waiting out there.

The psychokinetic then remembered about the Lost & Found Room. Technically, only employees were allowed in, but then again, there _was_ an X-box just lying around. Percy took off with a grin, promising himself to not take too much free stuff.

* * *

When he reached the door leading down to the Lost & Found Room, Percy couldn't believe his luck. Aeolus must've been either too forgetful or too confident, because he hadn't encountered one guard the whole way there. He twisted the handle, climbed down the ladder, and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by free things.

The young demigod walked around, every once in a while plucking something cool out of the pile and stuffing it in the bag Ares gave to him. Most of it was technically just for fun, like a Gameboy Advance, black sunglasses, and the fake Indiana Jones hat he'd found, but Percy had managed to find some pretty useful things too, like a small celestial bronze knife, and a wooden, but strong slingshot.

Suddenly, he heard a clatter behind him. He turned around, reaching for his pocket, but sighed when it turned out to just be a few things falling onto the platform. The young demigod walked over and looked down the hole at the metal platform hanging a few feet below. It seemed sturdy enough, being held at the corners by four metallic ropes, and it wasn't really dangling around as much as he'd thought it would.

With those thoughts in mind, he leapt off the edge, landing solidly on the platform, which only moved forward a bit. He looked up, and sucked in a breath. _'Now __**this**__ is a hell of a view,'_ he thought.

The whole underside of Aeolia was beautiful. Several of the strange, color-changing stones, now green, popped out of the rocky surface, but more importantly, it was covered by veins of a glowing blue material. _'I've never seen anything like that before,'_ he thought. _'It kinda looks like neon, but... different. I guess this is the floating magic that tour nymph was talking about.'_

All of a sudden, there was another sound behind him. Unlike the last one, this was definitely a person, the footsteps told him that much. He turned around, Riptide in hand and shield equipped, and wasn't really surprised to see the hooded man from before staring back, Laelaps silently growling beside him.

"You again," Percy said, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. "I was hoping you'd just leave us alone, but I guess it was too much to hope for. How'd you cross the bridge? Aeolus wouldn't of let you up here."

The hooded man shrugged. "I've got my ways," he said. "Demigod powers and all that, though I'm sure you wouldn't know." He crossed his arms, cocking his head to the side in a way that reminded Percy of... well, himself. "You can stop trying to act cool you know, it doesn't really suit you."

Percy scoffed, shifting his feet in a more open position in case the man tried anything. "Look who's talking. That hood might work for everyone else, but you aren't fooling me, _Orion_."

The man chuckled, removing his hood to reveal the young face that Percy remembered from his dream. "So you figured it out. I have to ask though, how could you possibly know who I am?"

Percy eyed Laelaps, who seemed to be growing impatient with the conversation, before setting his eyes on the sharp green that mirrored his own. "I had a dream about it. I didn't really get it at first, but when you showed up I could've sworn I saw that bow before."

Orion narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Damn that Morpheus. I could swear that the only reason he ever bothers to wake up is so that he can entertain himself with our dreams."

Percy stepped forward, but Laelaps gave a great bark, making him take a step back. "Why are you doing this Orion? I thought you were one of the great heroes. I get that you were kind of screwed over, but isn't this a little extreme?" asked the young demigod.

Orion's face darkened. "Why am I doing this? Simple. I _hate_ the gods. Especially those two monsters, Apollo and... _Artemis_." The name was spat with much venom, more than Percy thought possible. "That bastard Apollo brought me to a deserted island, one I couldn't leave for eternity, no matter how good I got with my aquatic powers. I couldn't hunt, I couldn't eat, I couldn't do _anything_. I went mad, and I would've stayed that way of it wasn't for my master."

Percy gulped, never before hearing someone talk with so much anger, but he hasn't missed that last comment. "What master?" he asked.

Orion chuckled, his previous fury disappearing. "Hah. That _is_ the question isn't it? Who sent me to look for you? Well, I wouldn't be very good at what I do if I just told you, would I?" He chuckled again when Percy glared at him. "I will tell you this, child. Give me your bag, and I'll make the death of you and your companions less painful."

Percy gritted his teeth. "Ha ha, very funny. I'm kind of in the middle of saving the world though, so how 'bout we make this quick, 'kay? We fight, I beat you up, and me and my friends go on our way."

Orion gave a bellowing laugh, taking his bow in hand. "While your confidence is commendable, you and I both know that you aren't a match for me."

Percy dashed forward, but Orion didn't react. Instead, Laelaps leaped towards him, and the young demigod had to raise his shield to defend himself. Lucky, crashing into a bronze shield didn't seem to do the monster dog any good, and when it landed, it wasted a few precious seconds trying to get itself back together, seconds which Percy took advantage of.

The psychokinetic landed lightly on his feet and threw his shield at the dog. Instead of just hitting it, Percy held his hand out and swished it through the air, directing his shield to literally push Larelaps off the platform.

Orion merely stood there, watching on like if it was just a movie. Percy retrieved his shield, turning back to the legendary archer with a satisfied expression. "That was way too easy. If you're gonna send monsters out to fight for you then at least make them strong."

Orion shook his head. "Laelaps was more of a tracker than a fighter. Your friends must've been really weak to have as much trouble against him as they did."

Percy glared. "My friends are strong in their own ways! Now shut up so I can punch you in the face!"

Orion smiled. "Heh. As foolish as you are, you aren't one of those boring heroes, I'll give you that." His smile shifted into a frown. "You _are_ strong though, much stronger than many of the demigods in your camp. Join us, and you'll surely get plentiful rewards."

Percy scoffed. "Like I'd ever do that. Don't even try, you're just wasting your time."

Orion glared at him, and Percy prepared himself to dodge, but the attack never came. "Why?" Orion asked. "Why side with the gods? Have you already been turned into a minion of Olympus?"

The question took him by surprise, but the young demigod wasn't about to let some guy call him a minion. "Hell no!" Percy shouted. "I'm doing this 'cause I want to!"

"_Are_ you? That camp, it is merely used to turn you into mindless followers, can't you see that? Have they already taken your free will?"

"They haven't taken anything! No one's controlling me!"

"Maybe not explicitly," Orion said, and Percy sent him a confused look. "Look at the evidence, child. You are forced to sacrifice food to the gods before every meal."

Percy shook his head, tightening the grip on his sword. "No one ordered me to do it. You don't know what you're talking about!" The psychokinetic charged at Orion, but the man leapt away, landing ten feet away.

Orion gave the young demigod a piercing stare. "Being ordered to do something is much different than being forced. No one told you to do it, but what if you hadn't?"

Percy's response was silence, and Orion continued. "If you didn't sacrifice to the gods, you'd be perceived as different, as an outsider of some level. That is just one example of how you are being subconsciously turned into a pawn. Believe me, there are many more."

Percy didn't know what to say. On one hand, the young demigod really wanted to shut him up, preferably with a punch to the face, but on the other hand, Orion had a point. Would he have gotten accepted if he didn't do as everyone else did?

"The gods don't appreciate us demigods," Orion continued. "The Hermes cabin is a prime example of this." He searched Percy's eyes. "Have you been claimed, child?"

Percy looked away, glaring at the ground. "You haven't," Orion deduced, and Percy flinched at the reminder. "Don't you see? You're on a quest to save the gods, and yet your own godly parent hasn't even given you their support. They forgot you."

The psychokinetic looked up, glaring at Orion. The man took an unconscious step back, surprised at the sheer intensity of Percy's scowl. _'This... This guy...' _thought the young demigod, bending his knees. _'He's wrong. He has to be!'_

Percy was suddenly charging at Orion, and the older demigod sighed in disappointment. "Hmph. I suppose you _are_ too far gone. So be it."

Percy reached Orion in record time, and attacked his enemy with a flurry of slashes. Like before, Orion deftly dodged them all, though with a bit more effort. It looked like his plan to recruit the young demigod had backfired, and now his anger fueled all of his attacks.

Orion attempted to kick Percy away, but in a surprising move, Percy parried his foot. The psychokinetic stepped forward with a downward slash, but Orion twisted out of the way. The legendary hero tried jumping away, but Percy soon caught up to him, and they went back to their violent dance. Seeing that he couldn't get any distance, Orion dropped his bow and took out a knife hidden in the sleeve of his hoody.

Percy slashed diagonally, but this time, Orion met Riptide with his own blade. The two began a dangerous close-range battle, and Orion cursed himself for not training with much other than his bow. As it was, the legendary archer's superior speed and strength was the only thing that kept him from getting shish-kabobed.

The young demigod slashed upwards, and Orion sidestepped. The man tried catching Percy in the side, but the psychokinetic blocked with his shield. He slashed horizontaly, but Orion front-flipped over Percy, and tried to roundhouse kick him in the head. Percy ducked his head and tried to cut the legendary man in between the legs. With a panicked yelp, Orion blocked with his knife and twisted over Riptide.

Suddenly, a wooden table flew in, heading up to the Lost & Found Room. Percy held out his shield arm and took control of the table, then sent it right at Orion, who jumped out of the way just before it smashed down on the ground, be remaking into pieces. Not giving up, the psychokinetic took control of all the broken pieces, getting them to orbit around his body with great speed. He engaged Orion again, and this time the legendary archer couldn't fight Percy and avoid all the sharp wooden pieces at the same time.

After receiving more than his fare share of shallow cuts, Orion grunted in annoyance. He held his free hand out, pointing it at Percy. The young demigod started getting tired and thirsty, and then realized that Orion was removing all the water from his body, the little droplets coming out of his skin and conjuring together in Orion's palm. He hastily constructed the wooden pieces into a ball and sent it at Orion, breaking the man's concentration and forcing him to drop whatever attack he was planing.

Unfortunately, Percy let himself open, and Orion kicked him, getting the young demigod right in the stomach. With a victorious grin, the ancient hero jumped away and raised his hands up. Above him, a ball of water formed, becoming bigger and bigger. Finally, when the ball of water was at least twice as big as himself, Orion swung down his hands and 'threw' the aquatic ball at Percy.

When the young demigod looked up, he was met with the sight of a pressurized ball of water heading towards him at a dangerous speed. He quickly twisted his body around and threw Riptide straight at it, increasing the sword's velocity with his powers. That wasn't all however, as he had also used his powers to coat it with many air molecules, sharpening it and increasing its length. _'I owe Annabeth so much right now,' _he thought, gritting his teeth at the exhaustion brought by the new maneuver.

Riptide cut straight through the water ball, splitting it in half and dispersing all the pressure built up, and the water fell on him as a light drizzle instead of a cannonball. Holding his hand out, Percy directed his sword to fly at Orion, intent on ending the fight. The legendary man, surprised at Percy's counter to his powers, barely dodged the spinning sword. The psychokinetic kept up his assault, moving the sword around in haphazard and unpredictable motions, but Orion avoided all of his attempts.

Finally, Orion seemed to get tired of dodging, and exaggeratedly clapped his hands together. Water exploded from his body, throwing Percy's sword out of his control and over the edge. The archer twisted his body around, arms stretched out, and all the water on the platform formed a ring around his body. He condensed the water and made the ring as thin as possible. Spinning his right arm in the air, the ring of water became smaller, until it formed a spinning disc above the palm of his hand.

"Do not get into a battle of powers with me, foolish child, for I have mastered my own!" Orion exclaimed, and then threw the water disc at Percy. The young demigod, not confident that his shield could block such an attack, dodged out of the way, and yelped in shock when the disc followed after him. Soon, the opponent's positions were reversed, with Orion trying to cut Percy up into little pieces, and Percy trying his hardest to avoid such an outcome.

"Percy!"

Both opponents looked up at the entrance to the Lost & Found Room, and Percy smiled when he saw his two friends, along with Aeolus himself. "Guys! A little help!"

Orion cursed when he saw then coming down. "Well, it looks like this will have to wait for later," he said to Percy, before being blown off the platform by a strong gust of wind.

The water disc fell to the ground, forming a puddle. Aeolus walked to the edge of the platform and looked over the distance. "Good riddance," the wind god said. "I hate intruders. They always have to make a ruckus. Speaking of which..." he turned to Percy, "what exactly are you doing in here? This area is restricted."

Percy chuckled nervously. "Uh... treasure hunting?"

Aeolus shook his head. "I suppose it doesn't matter, though I will expect this to count as another favor."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked. "There's more than one favor?"

"Yeah, you can blame us for that one."

Percy turned to Annabeth, who was completely expressionless, save the mischievous sparkle in her eye. "What did you do," he asked, dreading the answer.

"Lord Aeolus agreed to grant us our request, as long as one of us fulfills a favor for him in the future. I discussed it with Grover, and we both agreed that you'd be the best one for the job."

"And now you owe me two!" Aeolus commented cheerily.

Percy groaned, then looked at a sheepish Grover. "Really man? How could you betray me like that?"

Grover held his hands out in surrender. "Sorry Percy, but you know... you weren't there..."

"Not my fault!"

Annabeth gave him a deadpan look. "Yes it was, Percy. You need to learn how to control your temper."

Percy sighed, but couldn't hold back his smile. Even if his friends had more or less gone behind his back, they had still saved his butt. Speaking of which...

He turned back to look down the edge of the platform, and groaned when he saw a small storm cloud floating off. It had a darker tone than the ones covering the sky, and Percy just knew that Orion was using it to get away. He turned around, and sighed in disappointment when he saw that Orion's bow was gone, probably being carried away by the legend himself.

"Who was that guy anyway? I'm guessing he was a son of Poseidon because of all the water, but why would he attack you?"

The young demigod turned to Annabeth, who had stepped up next to him. Grover was still a few feet back, refusing to come anywhere near the edge. "It was that hooded guy from before," Percy said. For some reason, he just couldn't reveal the man's true identity, and it bothered him. Not that he'd let it show. "He got away, but I'm sure he'll be back later."

Annabeth sighed. "My quest is just getting more and more complicated," she complained. "When we get back, I'm going to need a long break. Preferably in a library. Or on a bed."

Percy chuckled. "C'mon, let's get off this island. I'm getting tired of being a few hundred feet in the air."

"Hear hear!" Grover shouted.

* * *

Later that night, the three quest members found themselves heading straight to L.A. Karkinos was as comfortable to sleep on as ever, which is to say not at all, but Percy didn't think he could've slept anyway.

_Have you already been turned into a minion of Olympus?_

Percy rolled over, getting on his back. Maybe a different position would help him go to sleep.

_The gods don't appreciate us demigods, the Hermes cabin is a prime example of this._

Percy grunted. Why couldn't he just stop thinking about it? Orion didn't know what he was talking about.

_They forgot you._

"Shut up!" he screamed.

"Percy? What was that?" Grover's voice sounded.

Percy turned around, lying on his side. "Nothing G-man... It's nothing..."

The young demigod waited for the satyr to go back to sleep, and then tried to do the same thing himself. But no matter how long he closed his eyes, or how many sheep he counted, Orion's voice kept him up all night.

* * *

**AN:**

**Well there you go, another chapter done. Actually, I'm pretty sure that the first part of this story is almost done, just a few more chapters left. Of course, who knows how many more parts there'll be after this one...**

**Anyway, the hardest part to write in this chapter was definitely Aeolia. I just didn't know how to describe it, because the wiki didn't say much about how it looked, but I eventually just decided to write it however I wanted it to look and there you go.**

**And yeah, I wasn't gonna drag out the hooded man's 'mystery' since it wasn't much of a mystery at all. There's enough to do with this character without his 'secret' identity.**

**Our heroes have struck a deal with Aeolus, and are now finally on the last leg of their quest! Will they make it into the Underworld? What of Percy? Will his doubts go away, or change him for the worse? Find out next time!**

**'Till next time!**

**:D**


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own Percy Jackson, and I never will. I'm cool with that though, since I can barely keep up with this story as it is.

* * *

Dark clouds gathered over Camp Half-Blood.

The campers bustled around its grounds, busying themselves with whatever task was available. Some carried pieces of armor, hastily equipping them before they were sent out to the front lines. Others carried the coming wounded to a ragged white tent that served as the medical bay. The younger campers drew circles on the ground, or ineffectively tried to sleep. Anything to distract them from the clouds above.

Katie sighed. She sat against a tree, right by the shore of the camp lake. _'Why do I keep coming here?'_ she asked herself, looking around the place that had become so familiar to her. Turning her head around, she found the notches and cuts that Percy had made during his training. Running her hands against the indented wood, she couldn't help but think of how lonely it felt. Of course, she'd kept up with her own training, but without her friend to motivate her...

Banging her head against the tree trunk, the daughter of Demeter scoffed. _'Listen to yourself, Katie, brooding over some shorty. There are bigger things to worry about.'_ Shifting her glum eyes to the sky, Katie gave an involuntary shudder. Things had been getting progressively worse as time passed. As the storm increased in its intensity, so did the number and power of the monsters. Manhattan and its surrounding areas had turned into a war zone, with demigods fighting for their very lives against a never-ending ocean of beasts.

Selfishly, Katie counted herself lucky that her cabin had been the least used. Demeter kids had never been particularly good at fighting, and all of her current cabin mates were younger than her. Needless to say, if any of her siblings got sent out... she wouldn't know what to do with herself.

"Katie!"

Standing up, the demigoddess faced her caller, only to find the Camp Overseer striding her way. She grimaced at the sight of Luke Castellan. With bags under his bloodshot eyes, dirty cheeks, and pale face, the son of Hermes' handsome visage had broken down due to stress. It pained her to see someone as impenetrable as Luke get stuck with such a laborious position, but Chiron was much more useful on the front lines, taking out waves of monsters. "Yeah, Luke?" she questioned, walking over to meet up with him.

He sighed, reaching up to rub the base of his nose. "Katie, how many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Overseer'? It's been almost a week already."

Katie stuck out her tongue. "I guess you'll just have to deal with it," she patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry though, I respect you on the inside." He rolled his eyes, but gestured for her to follow him back the way he came. "So... what's up?" Katie asked, strolling along next to him.

Luke rubbed his eyes, vehemently trying to hold back a yawn. "Look, Kate... You aren't going go like this..." He hesitated, and Katie felt her heart speed up. He wouldn't... He couldn't...

"Luke..."

"I'm sorry, alright?" The son of Hermes growled in frustration, and Katie clutched her chest. It felt like her heart would explode. "There was an accident. Ten Ares campers got taken out by a drakon. We need more help," Luke told her, though the words felt heavy on his lips. "The Demeter cabin has been giving the least-"

"We aren't fighters, Luke!"

"-WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!?" Luke screamed, stomping his feet and ending their walk. He breathed heavily, and managed to calm himself down "I'm..." He looked up at the thundering sky. "I... I don't know what else to do Kate..."

Katie followed his gaze, forcing back her tears. She knew the entire camp had to make sacrifices, but her siblings were so young...

"We can't keep going like this," Luke stated, but Katie barely registered his words.

_'This has to stop,'_ she thought. _'This is what our camp was made for but... There're just too many...'_

"I hope they come back soon," she said. Luke glanced at her, forcing down the bile that was making its way up his throat.

"They're in a lot of danger," Luke told her. "They might not come back at all."

He expected some sort of outburst, but Katie merely closed her eyes and let the first tear fall down her cheek. "They'll be back," she said missing Luke's flinch. "I know they will, I trust them. Him."

Luke sighed. "I suppose..."

_You got it Luke! I'll keep 'em safe for sure!_

His lips quirked upwards. "Yeah... I suppose they'll be back any day now."

As they kept their eyes on the sky, thunder boomed, and rain fell.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: The Land of the Dead**

"Man, how much longer is it gonna take?"

Annabeth kept her gaze on the swirling black wall in front of them, though she frowned at Percy's question. "You could stand to be a bit more patient, you know. We've only been here for a few minutes."

The group had finally reached the city of Los Angeles, or at least its borders. Positioned atop Karkinos' shell, all three quest members waited for Aeolus to blow away Zeus' electric barrier.

"I don't know, Annabeth," Grover muttered, looking at his wristwatch. He held it out, showing its screen to his two companions. "We only have a a couple of days left to get the bolt back and bring it to Zeus." The satyr gulped. "We might not make it..."

His blonde friend was about to reassure him, but Percy snorted. "Pfft. I'm not worried about whether we make it or not. I mean c'mon, _I'm_ here," this got a round of eye-rolls, "I'm just worried about how long we have to wait. Gah! This is so boring!"

Just as he said that, a great gust of wind blew around them, pushing away the black electrical wall until a big chunk had been dug out, revealing the Los Angeles cityscape. The young demigod immediately shut up, slightly gaping at the sight.

Annabeth couldn't help but smirk. "I guess that's that then." She straightened out her face, clapping her hands together and holding them close to her forehead. Closing her eyes, the daughter of Athena sent a quick prayer. "Thank you Lord Aeolus, we won't waste your gift."

Percy crossed his arms. "Hn, took 'im long enough."

A strong wind rushed by, pushing the psychokinetic off the giant crab shell he had been sitting on. He landed on his back with a gasp, losing his breath from the story-long drop. Both Annabeth and Grover laughed, and Percy could only glare up at them. "Ha... Ha... Very funny."

"Get your but in gear, Jackson!" Annabeth shouted, her grin still in place. "Lord Aeolus said he could only open up the electromagnetic barrier for a few minutes at best!"

Percy pushed himself up. He bent his knees and jumped five feet onto one of the crab's legs, then jumped again onto the top of its shell. "Alright," he said, walking back over to his two friends, "let's get moving then."

Grover was slack-jawed, but Annabeth only shook her head. "H-How..." the satyr started. "How... H-How..."

The young demigod waved his hand in dismissal, and Annabeth patted Karkinos' forehead. The giant crab started moving through the opening in the barrier, and Grover's question died in his throat.

* * *

The three quest-mates walked through the deserted streets of Los Angeles, looking for anything that might look like an entrance to the Underworld. Wild winds blew chaotically, and the barest of sunlight allowed them to see. In the distance, they could see the black barrier surrounding the city, twisting and churning its way around.

"Where _is_ everyone?" Percy asked, his voice barely heard over the sounds of the storm.

"It's like a ghost town in here..." Grover mumbled, looking around for any signs of life. "Why'd we have to leave Karkinos in the outskirts? There's no one here to see her."

"Everyone's inside," Annabeth told them. "They're probably watching us from the windows."

Percy turned to a darkened window. Squinting, the young demigod could barely make out the small shapes of what he guessed were children. "Great," he sighed, "a city full of stalkers. Just what I needed."

"I'm not sure that's how it works," Annabeth said. She put a hand on her chin, holding it thoughtfully as they continued to walk. "Whatever. We need to find the Underworld now before we run out of time. Any ideas?"

Grover perked up. "Hey, I've got it! Maybe it's behind the Hollywood sign! It makes sense, you know, 'cause Hollywood is evil!"

Percy scoffed. "Please Grover, that's stupid. As if anyone would actually think to put the entrance of hell somewhere so cheesy."

The three paused at that, looking at each other strangely. Percy turned a narrowed eye to his satyr friend. "Y'know Grover, as dark as it is, you look almost... African American."

Grover nodded, shifting his gaze onto Annabeth. "And Annabeth looks almost... brunette."

All three shivered for reasons they couldn't understand, and continued on their way. Percy huffed in impatience, breaking their awkward silence. "How are we supposed to find this place? We're not failing a quest just because we're lost!"

Annabeth shook her head, crossing her arms. "Calm down Percy, it's not like there's a map or anything. Besides, maybe it's time we called camp and asked Chiron for help."

Percy raised a brow. "We can call camp? I thought demigods weren't supposed to use phones. Plus you'll be lucky to get any reception at all from where we're at."

The daughter of Athena ignored him. She looked around until she found a fire hydrant. Walking up to it, the blonde looked at Percy. "Think you can break it open?" she asked, patting the fire hydrant like a puppy. Percy stared at her weirdly, but shrugged and decided to just wait and see what Annabeth wasn't telling him. Taking out Riptide, the young demigod winded up his arm. After surrounding the blade with air molecules, he swung his sword in a horizontal arc, lopping off the fire hydrant's top and releasing a geyser of pressurized water.

The three jumped back before they could get wet. Percy sheathed his sword and crossed his fingers behind his head, walking up to Annabeth. "Okay, so now that we just destroyed all hope of survival for anyone who's house gets set on fire by lightning, what now?"

The blonde took out a golden drachma and held it with both hands. "Not much to work with, but here we go," she muttered. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood!"

She threw the golden drachma at the building mist, where it dissolved into nothingness. An image wavered into view, and the three quest members found themselves facing the view of mid-day Camp Half-Blood. They gasped in shock, not believing the sight that greeted them.

It was bleak, much bleaker than any of them thought such a happy place as Camp Half-Blood could get. Annabeth opened her mouth, probably getting ready to call someone, when two people came into view.

"Oh! What do we have here?" asked Travis Stoll, not showing any signs of surprise. Connor Stoll also caught on to the situation, and Percy could only groan at the coming conversation.

"Hmm... Seems to me like our little saviors need some help!"

"Call the police!"

"Rally the army!"

"The army has already been rallied, brother."

"Ah!" Connor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well... Rally another army!"

"Guys!" Annabeth cut in. "This is important! Is Chiron there?"

"The horseman! Of course!"

"You mean the man-horse, my brother!"

"Horseman!"

"Man-horse!"

"Annabeth? Is that you?"

The image wavered, and Percy almost thought the connection would break. _'Looks like I was right about the bad reception,'_ he thought. When the Iris Message came back into focus, the young demigod was met with the sight of a haggard trainer of heroes.

"Chiron?" Annabeth asked, covering her gaping mouth with both hands. "You... You look... well..."

The centaur looked terrible. His pale skin was filled with cuts and bruises, some of which appeared to be newly placed. Percy stepped in front of Annabeth, taking it all in before speaking.

"You look like crap, Chiron," Percy said, ignoring Annabeth's uncommitted glare. "In fact, the whole place looks like crap. What the hell happened?"

There was an undertone of worry in Percy's apathetic voice, one that the old centaur recognized from his days as a middle school teacher. Chiron gave the young demigod a reassuring smile. "Do not worry," he told them, "everyone is just under much stress, including me."

"Because of the monster attacks?" Percy asked with a frown. "Is everyone alright?"

"I just told you not to worry, did I not?" Chiron asked. "We are as fine as we could be, all things considered, though I'm sure you didn't call for pleasantries."

"We didn't," said Annabeth, pushing Percy out of the way. "We're almost there, Chiron. I know that the entrance to the Underworld is somewhere around here in L.A., but we don't have time to go around looking for it. You know where it is, don't you?"

Chiron nodded, his face sullen at the reminder of their task. "Of course I do. I've seen it myself often enough. You will find the way in a place called the DOA Recording Studios."

"Hey, we just passed by there a few minutes ago!" Grover exclaimed, looking back the way they came. His face twisted in confusion. "Did we really just miss the entrance to Hades?"

"What does 'DOA' mean anyway?" Percy asked.

"Dead by Arrival," Chiron answered. His image started flickering, and Annabeth fished around her bag for another drachma. "No!" Chiron's distorted voice called out. "Y-ou kn-ow wher... to go now! There... isn't mu... time left, pro...eed on your qu-est!"

Before any of them could react, their centaur trainer waved his hand through the Iris Message, breaking their connection.

Percy faced his teammates, his expression filled with determination. "You heard the man, er, horse! We don't have much time left, so let's go!"

He dashed away to their destination, forcing his friends to run after him. _'Chiron...'_ The ragged image of his teacher flashed through his mind. _'Just hold on, it won't be long before I end this whole thing once and for all!'_

* * *

Entering the DOA Recording Studios, Percy was first struck by the complete silence that permeated the room. If someone dropped a pin, it would've probably sounded like a nuclear explosion right next to his ear. The second thing that he immediately noticed was how filled up the room was with the dead. There was barely any space to stand, and a long line snaked its way around, ending in front of an elevator with a button that only headed down.

The two demigods and their satyr companion squeezed their way to the front desk, where a blonde man in a suit read a newspaper. They stood in front of him, and when it became obvious that he wouldn't attend to them, Annabeth coughed politely. The man finally looked up, and Percy had to stop himself from gasping when he met the man's eyes. Looking at those empty eyes, the young demigod found himself feeling depressed, like there was no chance he would ever succeed at anything for the rest of his life. Blinking rapidly, Percy snapped out of his slight trance.

"You... You're a god, aren't you?" the psychokinetic asked, forcing himself to not make any eye contact. _'Do all gods have weird eye powers?'_

The man only blinked blandly, no discernible reaction on his face. "Yes, I am. Charon, god of boundaries and territories, at your service. Is there anything you need?"

"Wait, Chiron?" Percy questioned, and Charon twitched ever so slightly. "I know a guy named Chiron. Small world, I guess."

"Now, listen here," the god began, his voice carrying a hint of annoyance. "I am _tired_ of getting confused for that donkey man!"

"He's actually a horse-"

"I don't particularly care what he is!" The deity told him, getting louder and louder. The commotion caught the attention of some of the people in the room, but they quickly lost interest. Annabeth groaned, and Grover couldn't decide on whether to follow her example or tremble in place. He ended up doing both. "It's _Charon_!" the god continued. "Say it with me, Cha-Ron, not Chiron! You'd think that after all these centuries, people would stop making the same mistake!"

Percy waved his hands in a panic. "Woah, woah, woah! Okay man, it's Charon! I get it! Calm down!"

Charon huffed, going back to his blank, emotionless state. "I suppose it doesn't matter. What do you kids want?"

Percy sighed in relief. _'I really shouldn't make a habit of pissing off every god I meet,'_ he though to himself. _'But I didn't even say anything that bad! These guys really need some anger management.'_

"What's everyone else here for?" he asked rhetorically in response to Charon's question. "We need to get into the Underworld, pronto."

Annabeth elbowed his side, making him yelp in pain. Charon narrowed his soulless eyes at the sight. Dead people didn't feel pain. "You three _are_ dead right? I can't allow anyone into Hades unless they're dead, and I'm not seeing any wounds."

The daughter of Athena looked him dead in the eye, her face just as expressionless as the god's. "Yeah, we're dead. It was a naval accident. We drowned, so no wounds."

Despite wanting to pull her hair by the roots, Percy couldn't help but be impressed. Lying to a god's face was no easy feat, and she wasn't even from New York like he was.

Charon gave them all a critical eye before sighing and grabbing his newspaper again. "Hmph, whatever, brats. You can go take a seat and make yourselves comfortable. It'll probably take a few decades, but I'm sure you'll go down there eventually. Child deaths... you can never see 'em coming..."

Before Percy got the opportunity to complain, Annabeth dragged him and Grover over to some open seats. Sitting down, the psychokinetic glared at his blonde friend. "What was that!? 'A few decades!?' We've got two days!"

Annabeth glared back at him, not deterred in the slightest. "I know that, stupid, but we can't really complain, especially with the impression you gave him."

"Me!? How about you-"

"Guys!" Grover shouted. "We've got more important things to worry about, namely the 'getting into the Underworld' part, remember?"

The two demigods continued their glaring contest for several more moments, but reluctantly turned away. Annabeth looked around the room, her grey eyes taking in everything before her. "He's right," she said. "We need to get in there right now." Looking at the two boys, she stood up from her seat. "I'll go see what I can do. In the meantime, try to think of how you died."

Percy eyed her, confused. "Wait, what about the drowning thing?"

"The only reason that worked was because Charon just didn't care enough to do something about it. If any of these waiting souls found out that we're taking their spot, there could be a riot or something. Just try to think of something believable, alright?"

She left, and the two boys were left on their own. After a couple of minutes, Percy was already bored. He sighed, leaning down to rest his head against both hands. He turned to Grover, who was still looking at the assortment of spirits with a pale face. The young demigod sighed again, and when his satyr friend didn't react, he sighed louder. Grover blinked, looking over at the irritated demigod.

"Huh? What's up, Percy?"

The psychokinetic shrugged his shoulders. "I'm bored. What are we supposed to do until Annabeth comes back?"

Grover mulled it over, and his eyes lit up. He took out his reed pipes and wiggled them with his fingers. "Hey, how about I play some music? It should keep us occupied for a while."

Percy involuntarily cringed, remembering all the times his friend had played his 'music' on their quest. It sounded like a cat that just got its tail bit off. "Uh, G-man? You don't have to... Really, I'm good."

Grover looked confused. "Why not?"

Percy thought about how he could tell his friend that he was terrible at music without hurting his feelings. Grover was insecure as it was, and any tactless comments might put him in some kind of depression.

"Well... You kinda suck."

"Wh-What!?"

Percy scratched his cheek. "Yeah, you're not very good."

Grover looked scandalized. "What the heck!? Why'd you have to put it so... so... so bluntly?"

The young demigod's hands went up as if to say, 'well, what can you do?' "I'm generally known to be a blunt person."

Grover huffed, crossing his arms and turning away.

"Hey," Percy said, "c'mon man." He nudged Grover on the shoulder, but the satyr refused to look at him. "Don't be like that Grover."

After a few more tries, Percy gave up. _'Well, seems like I'm getting the silent treatment,'_ he thought. _'Great, what now?'_

The psychokinetic felt a cold vs pot on his shoulder. He turned his head and came face-to-face with one of the many spirits crowding the DOA Recording Studio. "Uh... Hey?" Percy said.

The spirit stared at him, probably getting used to trying to focus on the young demigod without a brain. "Hey man," the spirit asked, an obvious hippie accent imbued in its voice, "I don't see kids around very often. How long've ya been here?"

Percy thought about just ignoring the guy, but there wasn't really anything else to do, and Annabeth _had_ told them to make up a story right? "Oh, y'know, a few years. So, how'd you die?"

The spirit's glazed eyes glazed over even more, to the point that it looked... well, dead. "Uh... Hm... Oh, yeah! I was... I was with some buddies, right? And I... What'd I do?" He scratched his spectral scalp. The spirit continued to think for several moments, and Percy wondered why he even started talking to the man in the first place.

"I remember now!" the spirit exclaimed, snapping its ghostly fingers. "I was with some buddies, and we were driving... y'know... Uh... intoxicated." He waited for Percy's hesitant nod to continue. "So we're driving, right? And this guy sittin' next to me, he tells me that his house is right past the bridge, 'cause I was droppin' everyone off, right? So I went across the bridge, turns out it was unfinished! Can ya believe that! Drove right off a bridge!"

The young demigod nodded, wondering if his ghostly acquaintance was more than just intoxicated on the day he died. The spirit tried to nudge him on the arm, but his elbow went right through Percy's, eliciting a shiver. "Uh, so how 'bout you man? How'd a kid like you die?"

Percy thought about it. 'Well...'

_Just try to think of something believable, alright?_

The psychokinetic smirked. Screw believable. He was too awesome for believable. If he was going to die, it was going to be in the most epic way possible.

"Oh, well it's actually pretty interesting that you to asked," Percy said, his smirk widening. "Ever heard of the 'Young Astronaut Program'?"

Meanwhile, Annabeth was still trying to find a way into the Underworld that didn't involve spending dozens of years in a waiting room. All of a sudden, the crowd of spirits shifted, congregating around someone. Two someones.

Reaching her teammates, Annabeth grabbed Percy's shoulder and turned him around to face her. "What's going on?" she asked.

Percy smiled, his expression a mixture of pride and embarrassment. "Well... you see..."

"Haven't you heard?" someone said behind her. The blonde turned around and saw the hippie spirit that had spoken to her.

"Heard what?"

"This guy," the spirit pointed at Percy, "no... this _hero_, sacrificed his life to bring world peace!"

Annabeth was dumbfounded. She looked to Grover, who appeared a little squeamish being surrounded by so many dead people. "World peace?" she asked.

The satyr seemed just as confused as she was. "Yeah, I don't know."

"Ugh! So uneducated!" said a lady spirit, pulling out a folding fan from her pocket and waving it in front of her. Of course, the wind didn't affect her bodily state, as she was dead, but it really drove in the 'snobby rich lady' stereotype. "This incredible young man became the first and last twelve-year-old astronaut!"

"Wha-"

"Yeah!" shouted another spirit, this one dressed in Pizza Hut clothes and carrying a box of what Annabeth guessed was supposed to be pizza. "He was even the first human to discover aliens!"

"Don't forget how he defeated the entire Russian army, by himself!"

"Or how he ended world hunger!"

Grover got close to Annabeth, covering his mouth with one hand. "I think that being dead makes you dumber," the satyr stated, and the blonde could only nod.

"It's decided then! This young man must be rewarded for his efforts!"

"I say we let him go down first! Who's with me?"

"Hear, hear!"

Percy quickly took advantage of the situation. "Wow, thanks guys! But, uh, I couldn't go without my brother and my sister here," he gestured towards his still shocked companions, "I mean, what kind of guy would I be if I just left 'em hanging like that?"

"So generous!"

"I've never seen someone so selfless!"

"I say we let them _all_ down first!"

"Hear, hear!"

Before they knew it, the three quest-mates were inside the crowded elevator. Charon turned up a second later, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the new kids going into the Underworld after just a few minutes. The god pressed a button, and they found themselves going down.

Annabeth finally snapped out of her shock. "What the... What was all that about!?"

Percy smirked. "That," he told them, "is why you need me. I'm just that good."

Instantly, all awe they felt towards the young demigod was swept away when they remembered exactly who he was. The daughter of Athena shook her head, not willing to say anything to him, and Grover's deadpan expression said it all. "You know," the satyr said, "I really wish I still had that sprayer."

* * *

The three had finally reached their destination, or at least the last leg of their journey. In front of them lay the great Walls of Erebos, the last thing standing in their way to Hades' palace.

The only real entrance was heavily guarded by one of the most famous and dangerous monsters in history: Cerberus. With a gulp, Annabeth led her team forward, trying to hide their presence among the crowds of undead heading in the same direction. To get inside the Underworld, they had to pass under the enormous three-headed dog without getting detected as alive, something hard to do considering they were the only ones with a scent. Regardless of the danger, the three heroes walked ahead, refusing to give up so close to their goal.

That plan went wrong almost immediately. Cerberus was able to easily sniff them out, and Percy found himself relieving his dream, only that instead of a giant eagle, the monster was going after him.

He squared his shoulders, took out his sword, and equipped his shield. Annabeth prepared her hat, while Grover shakily put his reed pipes to his lips. Right when they were about to get run over, the satyr started playing, and with no warning, Cerberus went from a terrifying nightmare to a cute, three-headed puppy.

The change was so sudden and unexpected that the three quest members froze. The giant dog strutted over to their paralyzed forms, and nudged a horrified Grover with its nose, almost knocking the satyr down on the ground. Cerberus then sat on its haunches and seemed to wait for him to continue.

Eventually, they all realized just what happened. Hesitantly, Grover began playing his music once more, and Cerberus began swaying side-to-side. The satyr stopped playing and looked at Percy's wide eyes. For the first time that the young demigod had known him, Grover smirked. "Who isn't very good _now_, huh?"

Percy's shock was replaced by grudging respect. "Whatever, goat boy. Let's just go." He took a step forward, but Cerberus suddenly went back to being a growling monster. Before it tore the young demigod apart, Grover calmed the best with his music.

"Okay," said Percy, taking back his foot, "that's not gonna work."

Annabeth watched it all, her calculating eyes capturing the strange scene. Finally, she sighed. "It looks like we can't get past it unless Grover distracts it with his music."

"Alright," Percy said, "he can play, we get by, and six-eyes here," he pointed his thumb at Cerberus, "won't follow us in. What's wrong with that?"

She slapped him on the back of his head, leaving the young demigod grumbling and rubbing the stinging scalp. "Idiot," the blonde said, "what makes you think it won't follow us in? It's not like there's a leash." She turned to Grover. "Look, we can't risk taking Cerberus away from its job, because then anyone could get into Hades. Can you stay here and keep playing until we're done?"

Grover hung his head. "So that's it, huh? Stick me with guard duty while you guys go face the god of the underworld? Guess I should've seen it coming."

Annabeth reached out for him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Grover, you know I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, it's fine," the satyr said, shrugging off her hand and walking over to the panting monster dog. "I'll just stay here, you guys keep going. At least _someone_ appreciates my music."

The daughter of Athena set her worried gaze on Percy, and the young demigod didn't know what to tell her. Who knew Grover's self-esteem issues went so deep? But they had a job to do, and didn't have much time left to do it.

The two demigods went through the entrance, looking back at the moody satyr sitting on Cerberus' giant paw. Shaking his head, Percy felt guilt eat at him. He'd told Grover that he wasn't useless, but then insulted his skills right after. _'I'll make it up to you, G-man,'_ he thought. _'That's a promise.'_

* * *

"This place is kinda depressing."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, not even bothering to face Percy as they continued their trek through the Fields of Asphodel. "It's supposed to be depressing, idiot. We're in hell."

The two demigods weaved their way around the shades of the dead, making sure not to make any contact. Percy had asked what would happen if they did, but his blonde companion had given a very good reason not to: _do you really want to find out?_

"I'm just saying, after Elysium and the Fields of Punishment, this one just doesn't put much on the table."

"It isn't supposed to put anything on the table. The Fields of Asphodel are for those who haven't done neither good nor evil, so they come here and stand around for the rest of eternity."

Percy grimaced. "I knew that, it's just... Looking at it for real, this is like torture."

Annabeth turned around, her face incredulous. "Torture? This? Where were you when we passed by that guy that was getting continuously flattened by rocks? Or the woman that was trapped in a cage with the floor made out of spikes?"

Percy waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, I'm sure that sucked for those guys, but just look around." He spun on his heel, arms outstretched. "This place... It's like they're not even here." He stood in front of one of the shades and waved his hand in front of its face. There was no reaction. "At least in the Fields of Punishment you know what's going on. You're still... you." He sighed, stepping around the shade and taking the lead, Annabeth following after him. "I'd rather get set on fire for eternity than turn into a vegetable."

The daughter of Athena stared at him questioningly. For as long as she had known him, Percy had been like an unstoppable force. No matter how bad things got, or how dangerous a situation was, he always faced it head on, usually with a smartass remark. "Percy, are you okay? I know that the Underworld isn't the happiest of places, but-"

The young demigod scoffed. "Please, like some dreary atmosphere could get to me. This just looks like a really boring way to spend the afterlife."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, but just shook her head at Percy's fake excuse. She wasn't blind to her friend's obvious emotional troubles, but it wasn't the time for such things. Raising her head, her grey eyes spotted something in the distance, and it was coming in their direction. "Hey, what's that?"

Percy followed her gaze. They both stopped walking, their tense muscles ready to dive for cover. The figure got closer and closer, and its features became all the more noticeable.

Annabeth took a step back. "It-It's one of the Furies!"

Percy cursed, taking out his sword as the monster settled on the ground in front of them, landing on several shades which dispersed at her touch. "You two..." it said, its voice sounding distinctly female behind its guttural tone. "Come with me. I have been ordered to bring you to my master."

Percy raised his sword, eliciting a low growl from the creature. "Like that's actually gonna work." Before he could charge at the winged monster, Annabeth put a hand on his arm.

"Percy," she said, " I think we should go with her."

"Wh-What?" he asked, completely gobsmacked. She was supposed to be the smart one, wasn't she?

"Listen," she said before he could argue with her, "I hate this as much as you do, believe me," her voice took on a hint of malice, but it was gone in a second. "We want to go see Hades anyway, right? We've already wasted too much time walking there, and I don't want Grover to wait for us for too long."

He turned to look at the Fury, who was waiting for them with a smile that stretched past her eyes. He turned back to Annabeth. "You better know what you're doing."

She rolled her eyes. "Just trust me."

They broke off. "Alright bat-lady," Percy told the Fury, who grumbled in response, "we'll go with you. So how does this work? Do we just grab oooo-"

As he finished his sentence, the Fury swept at them, grabbing each of the two demigods by the backs of their camp shirts. Before they could blink, the two quest-mates were in the air, heading directly for a dark palace in the distance.

Percy glared up at the winged monster. "You could've warned us, y'know!?"

The Fury only laughed, or at least he thought it was a laugh. It sounded more like a squealing pig. It didn't take long for them to make it to Hades' palace, but the journey there was surprisingly boring. The Fields of Asphodel were humongous, taking up Percy's entire view. He wouldn't of been surprised if the neutral area took up most of the Underworld, which it probably did.

They landed on the front steps, and were immediately flanked by two skeleton guards, both holding an AK-47. He turned to the retreating Fury. "I guess that means you don't trust us," he stated blandly. The Fury laughed again, making him glare in annoyance. Couldn't he get a straight answer from this lady?

They walked through the dark halls of the palace. It was incredibly empty, the only decoration being the torches that lighted up the black and bronze walls. Finally, the two reached a big bronze door, one that reminded Percy of the entrance to Aeolus' office. _'Can't these guys get a little more creative?'_ he thought. Suddenly, it felt like a fifty-pound rock got dropped into his backpack. Just as he was about to take it off and check what it was, Annabeth nudged his shoulder.

"Come on, it's time."

Figuring it wasn't that big of a deal, Percy followed her into the throne room, where Hades himself waited on a throne of skulls.

The god of the Underworld was extremely pale, with eyes that matched his pitch-black shoulder-length hair and beard. He wore a long robe that lookeLille it was made putof blood, and with a start Percy realized it probably was.

Annabeth dropped to a kneel, and Percy did so as well, if a little reluctantly. As much as he hated it, he'd have to show Hades some level of respect if they were going to get the Master Bolt back.

"Lord Hades," Annabeth spoke, "thank you for allowing us into your palace."

Hades didn't appear very impressed. "Save your pleasantries, demigods. It has been a long time since one of your kind entered my domain." He glared at them intently, and Percy found it harder to breathe on the god of the Underworld's power. "What did you come to me for, daughter of Athena?"

"W-We came for the Master Bolt, sir," Annabeth coughed out.

Hades' power suddenly blasted off him, and both demigods were blown several feet back. Percy stood up, reaching for his pocket. "You dare..." the god said, his head hanging down. He looked up to them, and Percy had to use all his willpower to not run out of the room crying like a baby. **"You dare come into my home and accuse me of theft!?"** Hades shouted. **"Is this another one of Zeus, tricks!? I will have no more of it! He is the one that took from me!"**

Percy glared, trying to look brave, though his shivering body probably wasn't helping. "Wh-What the hell d-d-do you mean? Y-You stole th-the Master Bolt!"

Hades shifter his powerful glare to him, and the young demigod felt his knees buckle. His bag felt so heavy... Why did it feel so heavy? **"Do not interrupt me, demigod!"** the god said, his raspy voice sounding much louder than it should've sounded. **"Do you really think I want this petty war to start? You've seen the Underworld. There isn't enough room for so many spirits!"**

Percy gasped, the weight of his back almost dropping him on his knees again. "Well, if y-you didn't do it, w-w-who did?"

Hades' anger suddenly turned into glee. **"Oh... Oh! My, my... What is this power I feel? It certainly couldn't be coming from you..."** the god put his hands together, rubbing them up and down. The psychokinetic, despite the almost unbearable pressure on his back, couldn't help but think it was way too cheesy. **"Your bag, take it off, boy."**

All of a sudden, Percy felt fear grip his heart. A crazy idea jumped into his head, one so unfathomable, so completely ridiculous that he couldn't help but think of it. There was no way...

**"Take it off, boy!"**

_You did what I told you to, and I gave you your information. As far as I can see, we're done._

He took off the bag and was barely able to hold it up with both hands.

**"Now..." **Hades said.** "Open it. Show me what lies inside."**

_I will tell you this, child. Give me your bag, and I'll make the death of you and your companions less painful._

Percy opened his backpack, and to his horror, inside was a two-foot celestial bronze cylinder sparkling with electrical power. Annabeth caught the sight, and her face paled to such a degree that it rivaled the cackling god before them.

**"What an interesting turn of events..."** Hades said, his malicious smile implanting itself into Percy's memory as the scariest sight he'd ever witnessed. **"I'm sure we can come to an agreement, wouldn't you agree?"**

* * *

**AN:**

**Jeez, that took a while. Well there you have it, the most expected twist in the entire story. Don't worry though, if you're looking for an unexpected twist... it's coming.**

**We're reaching the end here, if that wasn't obvious enough. Trouble at camp, trouble in the quest, trouble in the world itself... Theres just trouble all over the place. **

**How will our heroes make it out of this one? Will Camp Half-Blood survive the wait? What will Hades do with the Master Bolt in his grasp? Find out next time!**

**:D**


	11. Chapter 11

****I don't own anything. No, really, I don't. Not even the books, since I read them all on Barnes and Noble without buying any of them.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Fate**

When he woke up, Percy found himself standing next to a tree on the shore of a lake. Looking around, he gasped when he realized that he was back at Camp Half-Blood, in the same place where he trained with Katie every day. He could see the cabins a few dozen yards away, and the Dinning Pavilion on the other side of the lake just like he remembered.

"What the hell..."

Suddenly, Percy heard something drop into the lake. He turned around and saw ripples forming in the water. The demigod walked over to the edge and looked inside, but he couldn't see the bottom. It was like the water turned into a mirror, and all he could make out was his crystal clear reflection, which strangely had its eyes closed.

Without warning, his reflection smirked, and Percy yelped, taking a step back in surprise. Slowly, he edged his way forward and peered into the lake, once again seeing his reflection smirk at him. He gulped, but narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, stop that."

The reflection chuckled, and to Percy's shock it actually produced a sound. His reflection sounded nothing like him though. It was heavy, and filled with an overwhelming force that Percy hadn't felt since...

"Wh... Are you that voice from my other dream? Am I in a dream right now?" The reflection kept chuckling, it's eyes closed. Annoyed, Percy crossed his arms. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

The reflection finally stopped, but its evil smile was still in place. It opened its eyes, and Percy froze in a strange combination of intrigue and fear. They were golden, glowing with power.

**"You came this far... It is really too bad that you got yourself locked in a cell. A least your body is close enough to me that I can manifest myself here**."

"So it _is_ a dream..." Percy muttered, deciding not to comment on how weird it was to have such a voice come out of what seemed to be his mouth. He looked down at his reflection, making sure to avoid the golden eyes, least he be trapped in some kind of emotional curse like the other two gods he met. "Now what? Are you gonna tell me something about how I am you and you are me? Want me to join the dark side?"

The reflection shook its head. **"Oh no, demigod. Not only would you never accept such a proposal, but I could never have you work under me. I hate you."**

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what? I haven't met you before in my life."

**"You did not need to. I hate you because that is just the way things are. Not only are you a demigod, but a special one at that. Very special."**

Said demigod frowned. "I've been told. What does that have to do with anything, though?"

The reflection shook its head, more to mock him than to express any real disappointment. **"Your kind is not very intelligent. It seems that nothing has changed in the thousands of years that I have been imprisoned."**

"Who _are_ you?"

The reflection chuckled again, a grating chuckle of what could only be amusement, though the dark voice didn't make that easy to hear. **"I am Kronos, the Titan of Time."**

Percy's eyes widened. _'Kronos... Crap.'_

"Kronos?" he asked, his voice shaking. "Supreme-evil-dictator-of-the-world Kronos? Guy-who-ate-his-children Kronos?"

Kronos nodded. **"The very same."**

Getting himself under control, Percy glared down at the Titan in control of his reflection. He was still scared, but he couldn't be hurt in a dream... at least, he guessed so.

"What's this all about, then?"

**"Do you not see? You and I..."** The Titan Lord paused, and Percy wondered if Kronos just did it to add dramatic effect. **"We are not one. On the contrary, we are opposites."**

Percy snorted. "Yeah, opposites." He shook his head. "I don't think it's fair that we're opposites and you can kill me with one move."

Kronos chuckled again, and Percy was starting to become annoyed with the grating sound. **"For you, perhaps. Maybe the Fates made it this way, but for better or worse, we are opposites. Two sides of the same coin. Black and white, with no gray in between. Can you not feel it like I do?"**

Percy was about to deny the stupid thought, but then he felt it. Something inside him broke, and a rush of hate flowed into him, ripping its way through his soul. He almost dropped to the ground, but caught himself, instead leaning on his knees.

"Wha-What?"

Kronos laughed, a booming laugh just like the one he remembered in his dream. **"Do you hate me now, demigod? Have you finally come close enough to my essence that your true nature is finally revealed?"**

Percy looked up, his face sweating, and couldn't help but glare at the Titan. "You... You bastard... Tell me what's going on!"

Kronos grinned maliciously, the strange expression looking out of place on Percy's reflection. **"Is it not obvious? Space and Time, the two primordial forces finally together. I do not know how you got your powers, but it surely propelled you to this fate."**

_'Space and Time?'_ Percy thought. "That doesn't make any sense. Why do I hate you? You're an evil monster, but I've never met you once in my life!"

**"It is the way of the world, young demigod,"** Kronos said. **"You are not dealing with petty humans or gods anymore. This is the fight between two forces of existence, we do not ****_need_**** a reason!"**

"But we aren't fighting..." Percy murmured. Suddenly, he had a thought. "Wait, _you're _the one who stole Zeus' Bolt?"

Kronos smirked. **"I did not do it myself, but had one of my subordinates do the deed. Of course, that would not have been enough to initiate conflict between my two sons, so I made sure that Hades' little helmet was stolen as well."**

Percy grit his teeth. "Why? What's the point of starting a war?"

**"Is it not obvious?"** asked Kronos, his face twisting in rage. **"To be free of this wretched prison! When they destroy the land and weaken each other, I will rise up and take my rightful place on the throne of the world once more!"**

_'Ares couldn't of done it, since gods can't take each other's symbols of power, so it must've been a demigod,'_ thought Percy. He glared down at his reflection. "What demigod would work under you? Who'd be that stupid?"

Kronos looked at him, and then laughed, all traces of anger leaving eyes golden eyes. The Titan laughed and laughed, annoying Percy to no end.

"What's so funny!?"

Kronos stopped laughing, though an odd form of enjoyment could still be made out in his expression. **"Oh, if only you knew. I could tell you, of course, but I do not want your hope dashed so soon."** The Titan looked up at Percy. **"Go, demigod. Break out of your own prison and escape the Underworld. It will be enthralling to see you die at the hands of the one waiting for you on the surface."**

The world started to disappear, but Percy kept looking at his reflection, Kronos' essence now gone.

_Two sides of the same coin. Black and white, with no gray in between. Opposites._

* * *

Percy woke up with a start. He looked around, and in place of green grass and blue skies, he found himself in a small, black-bricked room. The only way out was a door made from a red metal of some sort. He quickly came to the conclusion that he was trapped in a cell in the Underworld.

_'Okay,'_ he thought, pushing thoughts of Kronos out of his mind to deal with the current situation. _'Alright, I gotta break out of jail, find Annabeth, take back the Bolt, get out of the Underworld, survive whoever's up in the surface waiting to kill me, and get all the way back to New York, all in,' _he looked down at his wristwatch, and fought down the despair that threatened to take over him, _'twenty hours. Easy.'_

Percy patted his pocket and was glad to find Riptide still there. _'I guess not even Hades knows about my sword,'_ he thought. Unfortunately, his shield was nowhere to be found, and Percy cursed himself for letting them take away Beckendorf's gift. He stood, searching the small cell for anything that might help him break out. However, the room was completely bare, no furnishing in sight.

Percy huffed. _'There isn't even a toilet. How do they expect me to go to the bathroom? Unless...'_ He shivered. _'Never mind.'_

The young demigod looked at the metallic red door and sighed. _'Looks like I'll have to do this myself.'_

He cracked his knuckles and held them out towards he door, trying to force it open. It didn't take long for him to see that it wasn't even budging an inch.

He cursed again. _'It's too heavy,' _he realized, stomping his foot in frustration. Of course Hades would make the door out of the heaviest substance he could find, the guy was the lord of the Underworld, after all. Whatever the door was made of, it was definitely out of Percy's league. _'Now what?'_

He couldn't think of anything. Percy didn't think that even Annabeth, wherever she was, could've come up with a plan for such a situation. The psychokinetic tried forging a hole in the wall, but the black bricks felt even heavier than the door. He growled, forcing back the urge to throw a tantrum. Instead, Percy released all his frustration and hopelessness with a punch to the wall, which he immediately regretted.

"Agh, damn it!" he shouted, holding his now bleeding knuckles. His hand wasn't broken, he would've felt that for sure, but it hurt.

Percy growled again, but sat back on the ground, holding his head in between his hands. _'There's no way out of this,' _he thought. _'I... Is this it? Coming all this way to get stopped by a wall...' _He grit his teeth. _'Pathetic...'_

He suddenly felt a burning hatred for the gods, almost as great as the one he had felt for Kronos. Those good-for-nothing immortals used him, sending him and his friends on some suicide quest that didn't even accomplish anything.

If it wasn't for them, then he wouldn't be in some stupid jail cell miles underground, Annabeth would be safe in her cabin, and Grover wouldn't have to distract a deadly three-headed monster for hours.

If it wasn't for them, he wouldn't need to know who his parents were, because he would just just _know_. He would've been raised by parents that took care of him, not in some orphanage where everyone was too scared to be his friend, or treated him like some kind of extraterrestrial. Luke's speech suddenly made much more sense.

Luke...

_I believe in you alright? You're the muscle here, so you take care of them okay?_

What would he think? He wouldn't want Percy to give up, but what was there to do?

_How about this, I can just make you the shield and you pick it up on Thursday. I'll teach you all about forging later._

Beckendorf... Even if Percy lost the beautiful shield his Hephaestus friend made for him, he knew that Beckendorf would just laugh and say that it was probably put to good use for as long as it lasted.

He remembered what Chiron had told him after he beat the Minotaur with Riptide. He'd tried to give the sword back, but the old centaur had insisted that Percy keep it.

_Monsters like this are sure to keep coming after you, and you'll need a sword anyway. Plus, you showed a surprising amount of skill without any training. I can't think of anyone better to wield this sword._

Even before he knew about the Greek gods or Camp Half-Blood, Chiron had believed in him. He trusted Percy with Anaklusmos, a magic blade that many campers would've killed for.

_It's simple, this guy beat me in a fight, and if he can do that, there's no one here who stands a better chance than Jackson._

Clarisse had said that. The meanest, toughest, most stubborn girl he'd ever met in his life respected his strength. They weren't even friends...

_You better come back in one piece, Percy._

Katie... She knew him more than anyone else. There was never any question as to whether or not he would make it back to Camp Half-Blood.

Annabeth and Grover, his two companions, how could he let them down? This quest was his chance to prove himself, but it was their chance too. Annabeth wanted to show everyone at camp how good of a leader she was, and Grover needed to finish the quest so that he could follow his dream to find Pan.

Percy realized what he'd been missing all this time. He didn't take the quest for his own growing glory, or for the gods. He didn't even come all this way for the good of the world. The reason he fought a giant crab, made a deal with the war god, climbed a mountain and sought out the god of wind's help, discovered the true ending to an Ancient Greek legend, went into the Underworld and got stuck in some cage, it was... It was...

He stood back up, a new determination blazing in his eyes. There were people that believed in him, trusted him. Too many for him to let down. He promised Luke that he'd make sure everyone was safe, promised Katie that he'd come back. Beckendorf and Chiron had put their faith in him right from the start. He'd finally gained Annabeth's respect, or at least he thought so, and he found himself doing the same for her. He couldn't leave things with Grover as they were, and next time he saw the satyr, he would apologize. Now the only thing left to do was to make sure that there would be a next time.

He held both hands out, arms outstretched, facing the metal red door, and _pushed_. He stood for hours, pushing and pushing with his powers, making a small dent that continued to grow into an expanding hole. His forehead was slick with sweat, his eyes felt as heavy as the substance he was molding, and his whole body was trembling uncontrollably, but the psychokinetic kept pushing. He felt like he could pass out any second, but whenever he was about to give up, Percy remembered Katie's cheeky smile, or Chiron's pats on the back, or Grover's terrible music, or Luke's proud gaze, or Annabeth's exasperated eye-rolls.

And Finally, after hours of exhausting effort and constant pressure, Percy created a hole in the door large enough for him to slip through.

Percy stood there, his arms still outstretched, with a slightly astonished expression that immediately turned into one of happiness.

"YEAH!" he shouted, hopping up and down while raising both hands in the air.

He went through the opening, and hastily moved his head side to side, trying to decide which way to go. The place was just a hallway full cells, many of which were occupied.

Percy went left, peering into all the cells he passed through, trying to find Annabeth. He went as fast as he could in his tired state, and was glad that his energy would replenish in an hour or so, as he had only exerted his mind, not his body.

He ignored all the pleading prisoners he heard on the way, whether it be from a monster or a person, and kept going. After enough time had passed, Percy decided he could afford to be a bit risky and call out her name.

"ANNABETH!"

He waited, listening as his voice echoed down the corridor. Just before he could call her name again, he heard her response.

"PERCY! HERE!"

_'Just a bit more!'_ he thought, now running down the hall.

Finally, he reached her cell, which was right next to the dungeon exit. Looking inside through the small barred window in the door, Percy saw Annabeth, standing and looking back at him with a relieved smile.

"Percy, oh thank the gods! I thought..."

The psychokinetic smirked tiredly. "What's wrong, Jasmine? Did my handsome features leave you speechless?"

Annabeth sighed, though her lips were still quirked up. "As if. You look terrible, by the way."

Percy waved his hand, dismissing her comment. "Yeah, yeah. Now, sit tight and let me break you outta here."

Right after he said that, he realized the problem. Looking down at his watch, he was horrified to see that there were only eleven hours left until the summer solstice. Gulping, he decided to just get started on the door, and no matter what, not tell Annabeth.

Holding his hands out in the position he had become so familiar with, Percy began pushing the metal of the door and immediately felt his exhaustion returning. It felt easier however, so he could maybe get it done in seven hours instead of nine, but he knew that it still wouldn't be enough.

After a few minutes, Annabeth's voice broke through his focus.

"So, how long did this take you the first time?"

He looked up at her, his arms still outstretched. "Two hours."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Percy, I was trained on how to tell whether or not someone's lying. Tell me, how long did it take you?"

Percy knew when he was beaten. "Fine. It took me... about nine."

Annabeth looked down at her own wristwatch, and she gasped in both surprise and despair. "Percy, listen to me-"

"Nope."

"Percy, ple-"

"No!" he exclaimed. His eyes went back to the door. "I'm not leaving you."

"I know, Percy, I know! But please, you can't sacrifice the world for me!"

Percy shook his head, still working through the cursed red metal. "I-" his voice cracked. "I know, but... What do you want me to do!?" He grit his teeth. "I promised Luke that I'd take care of you guys, and I can't just show up without you! Plus..." He paused. "I..."

"Percy-"

"You're my friend!" he shouted, and the metallic surface of the door budged a bit more harshly than it had been doing. "I'm not... I can't-"

"Listen to me!" Annabeth said. Percy looked up at her and was shocked to see her crying. "Listen to me..." She tried to wipe away the tears, but they were already falling down her cheeks. "You... You n-need to leave n-now-"

"But-"

"No, listen!" she shouted, and Percy reluctantly shut his mouth. "If you d-do this, I won't be able to live with m-myself, got it? If you b-break me out of this cell right now, I'll kill myself! I swear on the River Styx!"

Percy instantly stopped, and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Annabeth-"

"Go!" she shouted, now crying without restraint. "Just g-go, Percy. This is _your_ quest now."

He could feel himself about to join her in her sorrow, but before a tear could slip through his eyelid, Annabeth reached out a hand through the window bars and wiped it dry. "Look at that," she murmured, a small smile on her wet face. "Percy Jackson, c-crying," she chuckled, though it was broken by a sob, "who would've th-thought?" She shook her head, pulling back her arm. "If it makes you feel any b-better, you're n-not so bad either."

There was nothing more to say.

Percy turned around, ready to continue his quest. He opened the bronze door, but before he took another step, he turned to face the daughter of Athena, looking her right in the eyes.

"I'll come back for you. I promise."

She nodded, and Percy left the dungeon, closing the door with a great thud.

* * *

Percy sneaked his way through Hades' palace, making sure to stay out of the shadows, least the lord of the Underworld himself come to finish him off. He did his best to keep Annabeth out of his mind, but it was a difficult task. He could just imagine her, down in those terrible dungeons, having to-

He shook his head. _'Not now.'_

The psychokinetic considered himself lucky that the undead patrolling the halls didn't seem to have very good senses. Many were missing their eyes, and those who could see were missing their ears. Stealth had never been his forte, but with guards like these, the young demigod didn't even have to try.

The real problem was the palace itself. The place was a maze, with twisting corridors and winding staircases, some of which led to dead ends, or at least that's what Percy thought they were. Maybe only ghosts had unrestricted access to the entirety of the palace, because he was sure that at least one of the bronze walls hid a room behind it. Regardless, he didn't have much time left, and wasting all of it trying to find his way out of a labyrinth didn't sound very heroic.

The psychokinetic was going as fast as he could without making too much sound, but when he turned a corner, he crashed right into one of the patrolling zombies. The two bounced off each other and landed on their butts.

Percy looked up at the undead guard, and the undead guard looked up at Percy. They both sat there, dumbfounded, until the guard reached for its sub-machine gun, and suddenly found its head removed.

Percy, now standing with his sword raised, looked down at the headless corpse. He noticed the mangled and ripped German World War II uniform, and smirked, having found the perfect solution to his dilemma.

He put on the uniform over his clothes, making sure to place the helmet low over his face so that it would be harder to tell that he was alive. It was all way too big on him, but he hoped it would be enough to trick the idiot zombie guards.

Percy roamed around in his new disguise until he came across more undead.

"Hey! Uh, guys!"

The two zombies dragging their way down the hall twisted their heads at an 180 degree angle to see him walking towards them, stepping carefully so he wouldnt trip on his oversized disguise.

"Uuuuugh."

Percy felt his face shift into a deadpan stare. _'Of course they can't talk,'_ he thought bitterly, _'just my luck.'_

Controlling his frustration, he raised a finger. "Can you tell me where I can find the Master Bolt?"

The two undead guards stared at him with their soulless eyes, and the psychokinetic fidgeted uncomfortably in place. Suddenly, he realized his mistake. Zombies couldn't talk.

"Oh, I mean... Um... Uuuugh, ugh ugh, braaaaaaiiinsss?" he asked, making all sorts of hand motions and finger pointing. The young demigod felt ridiculous having to talk like he was mentally deficient, and even worse was that they might not understand him at all. Just because zombies groaned didn't mean that they could actually communicate with each other, and even if they did, he didn't speak zombie.

To his shock, one of the undead nodded in what seemed like understanding. "Ugh, uuuuugh ugh ugh ugh," it told him, pointing a broken finger at an empty hallway.

Holding back his relieved sigh, Percy gave the zombie guard a thumbs up. "Ugh ugh," he said, trying to thank it for its help. Not a moment later, the young demigod was walking down the new path, intent on reaching his destination.

Luckily for Percy, the zombie guard gave him some good advice. After just a few minutes, he found himself in the main hallway that led to Hades' throne room, just like he remembered. Seeing no guards in sight, the young demigod headed to the large bronze doors, crossing his fingers in the hope that the god of the Underworld was sleeping in his bedroom.

Placing his hands on the cold metal of the door, Percy used all his strength to push it open, sending out an echoing creak. Wincing, the psychokinetic hastily slipped inside the room, knowing that he didn't have long before someone heard it the loud sound.

Inside the throne room, everything was just as he remembered, except that instead of Hades, the Master Bolt itself was sitting on the throne of skulls. Even better, all of their things were at the foot of the throne, including his shield, Annabeth's dagger, and more importantly, Ares' green bag where he could keep the Bolt.

He quickly gathered everything up and put it inside the backpack, and began climbing his way up the mound of bones to the seat of the throne. Reaching the top, Percy took ahold of the Master Bolt's electric surface and gritted his teeth, resisting the constant shock. He hurriedly put it inside the bag, and with a nod of satisfaction, began to leave the room. Just as he was about to slip through the opening in the door, someone stopped him in his tracks.

"My, my, my. What do we have here?"

_'Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap...' _Percy thought, recognizing the chilling voice of Hades himself. He turned around to find the dark god sitting leisurely on his throne, coal eyes half closed as if Percy was the most boring thing imaginable.

"H-Hey Lord Hades," Percy greeted, starting to hyperventilate. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't you?" Hades asked, his cold voice strangely amiable. "Why, I thought it would be obvious that I would create some way to know when my prisoners escaped from their cells, wouldn't you agree?"

"Of c-course." Percy's panicked eyes looked around, trying to find any way for him to escape his now inevitable demise. "It'd be stupid not to, and you aren't stupid."

"I'm not?" Hades asked, now leaning on his knees and looking at Percy as if he was the most interesting thing in the world. "Thank heavens you do not think so. And here I thought you figured me to be some kind of idiotic fool."

"Wh-What? Pfffft, no..."

"Forgive me, then. I just assumed you did, since you actually thought that a pathetic little demigod such as yourself could actually escape my notice."

"Well, clearly I can't! You sure g-got me! Hehehe..."

"It appears I did," Hades said, leaning his head against his intertwined hands. "Now, what do I do with you? Perseus Jackson, wasn't it?"

"Uh..." Percy gulped, then smiled uncertainly. "Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out." Hades didn't laugh. The demigod gulped. "You could j-just, y'know... let me go?"

Hades mulled it over. "Yes. Yes I could," he said, and Percy couldn't believe his ears. "Unfortunately, I do not particularly want to. Oh well, I'll just have to kill you then." Percy's hopes were immediately crushed.

Hades stood from his throne, producing a black scythe out of shadows. He looked at his weapon of choice with a critical eye, then shrugged. "A bit cliched, but I suppose it is enough to serve its purpose."

Percy tried to run, but the young demigod found himself ensnared in pitch dark shadows. "Oh, c'mon! Really!?" he shouted.

Hades chuckled evilly. "Forgive me, mortal, but I have never been a big fan of hunting. The only good prey is dead pray, as I always say."

Hades then let out an unimaginable amount of power. It was so intense that it blasted Percy's disguise right off him, leaving the young demigod shaking in its wake.

The god lunged, and Percy closed his eyes. Suddenly, the doors to the throne room blasted open, and a huge black blur crashed into Hades mid-air, tackling the pale god to the ground. The psychokinetic opened his eyes, and to his immense surprise, saw that his rescuer was Grover riding atop the hulking form of Cerberus.

"G-Grover?" he asked, dumbfounded at the sight of his friend sitting on the neck of Cerberus' middle head.

"No time!" Grover shouted. The satyr reached down. "Jump!"

Percy jumped several feet, closing his hand around Grover's arm. The satyr pulled him up, called out, "Go, Cerberus!" and they were soon bounding through the halls of Hades' palace. Behind them, Percy felt Hades release his power once more, but decided not to worry about it for now.

"Grover!" Percy called out. "What the hell!?"

The satyr laughed. "Yeah, well you guys were gone for a while, so me and Cerberus became pretty good friends. Isn't that right, boy?" The beast barked in what Percy figured was agreement. The giant three-headed dog then made a sharp turn, and the young demigod had to tightly grip it's fur so he wouldn't fall over.

"You became friends with the guard of the Underworld?" Percy asked incredulously. _'Though, now that I think about it,'_ he thought, _'I can apparently speak zombie, so I guess anything goes down here.'_

Grover nodded. "It turns out that the big guy hasn't even been scratched for a few hundred years. Can you believe that?" He scoffed, apparently displeased with the terrible treatment Cerberus recieved. "He was so grateful when I did it that he agreed to help me find you guys. Speaking of which," he cast Percy a confused look, "where's Annabeth?"

Percy felt his stomach drop, and Grover must've sensed his sorrow, because the satyr quickly turned away. "Oh," he muttered, voice devoid of its previous exhilaration, "something bad, then."

The entrance to the palace, or exit, was right in front of them. Dozens of undead guards were waiting, guns raised. Grover yelled in fright, but Percy glared. He raised both hands and yanked all the guns from the guards' hands, even ripping some rotting arms off. The guns clattered on the floor behind them, and Cerberus jumped over all the zombies, going through the large doors and dashing out of the palace.

"Wh-What happened!?" Grover asked him.

The psychokinetic grimaced, just remembering that he hadn't told his satyr friend about his powers yet. Shaking his head, Percy called out to him over the howling of the wind. "Not now!"

Grover frowned, but accepted with a nod of his head.

**"JACKSOOOOOON!"**

"Oh, crap," Percy stated, not willing to glance behind them at the angry god. Grover patted hard on Cerberus' pelt, and the giant monster began running faster.

The two quest-mates went through the Fields of Asphodel, dispersing many shades in the process. Percy hoped that they weren't inadvertently destroying people's souls in their escape, but the situation was dire enough that he didn't put much thought into it. He could feel Hades chasing them down, and gaining on them fast. Cerberus might've been quick, but not many things could compare to a god.

Hearing a shrieking roar, Percy and Grover looked up to see the three Furies right above them. The satyr shuddered.

"All three furies..." he said, terrified. "Oh, this is bad."

Percy's senses were exploding from all the monsters and undead chasing them down. He quickly glanced to the side and saw a veritable army of nightmares right on their heels. Ghosts, zombie warriors on chariots, hell hounds, demons, and who knew what else.

"I think it's worse than bad, G-man," he muttered, noticing one of the undead warriors about to throw what he recognized as Greek Fire at them. _'They'd kill their own guard dog just to get to us?'_ he thought, disgusted at the Underworld's disregard for life. '_Even if Cerberus'll eventually reform, not cool.'_

The warrior threw the bottle of green flames at them, but Percy waved his hand in its direction, sending the explosive right back at its thrower.

"Return to sender, asshole!" he shouted, watching as the powerful fire consumed the chariot and made it crash into several of their chasers, engulfing them in flames as well.

One of the Furies dived at them, but Percy unsheathed his sword and sliced one of its wings off. It fell to the ground, screeching in pain, before it got stomped to death by the stampede of Underworld forces. Its two sisters cried for vengeance.

"Death to the foolish mortals!"

"I hated her, but I hate you more! Die!"

They both attacked at the same time, forcing Percy to crouch into Cerberus' fur so as to not get his head chopped off. The demigod sat up and threw his sword at one of them, but the demon dodged it.

"Ha ha!" it laughed, pointing a mocking finger at him. The other Fury joined its sister, and they both cackled at his terrible aim. Unfortunately for them, they missed Percy's dangerous smirk, and before they knew it, both Furies were sliced in half by the returning blade, turning into golden dust in midair.

The psychokinetic closed his hand around the handle of his weapon when it flew back to him, chuckling. "Oh man, did you see their faces?" he asked Grover, but the satyr didn't respond.

"Uh, Grover?" he asked again, and his friend merely pointed ahead. He followed Grover's horrified gaze, and his face slackened. In front of them lied the Walls of Erebos, except that they weren't walls anymore. The dark barrier of the Underworld had turned into a gargantuan face, one that Percy recognized as Hades', and was holding a mass of swirling black energy in its mouth.

Percy cursed himself. _'Damn it! How could I forget that this guy had full control of those walls!?' _The dark face smiled slightly, as if amused by his thoughts, before taking a long breath and launching the black energy ball at them.

The attack boomed, creating a massive ravine as it charged at them, completely eradicating the underground landscape. Grover covered his eyes, and Percy was ready to do the same until he remembered one crucial fact. _'Wait a minute... I have the world's strongest nuke in my backpack!'_

Hastily, he took the Master Bolt out of its 'sheath', shaking a bit from the continuous electric shock, and held it out towards the dark ball of destruction.

_'C'mon, Zeus, if you want your stupid bolt back, help me out here!'_ he prayed, closing his eyes and trusting the rod of electricity to do its job. Less than a second later, a great blast of lightning launched out of the Bolt.

What happened next would be talked about for ages amongst the residents of the Underworld. For a few short moments, it was like Apollo had driven his sun chariot straight down into the land of Hades, lighting up every corner and momentarily blinding all those who had grown used to the constant darkness. Those in Elysium witnessed it first hand, as the point of impact happened several miles outside their front door. The souls in the Fields of Punishment felt their hopes rise for those precious seconds, it being the closest thing to the surface some had felt in centuries. Even the evil pit of Tartarus was brightened up, it's perpetual black becoming a much lighter shade of gray.

Percy held Grover in an iron-tight grip and used all his mental strength to stick himself to Cerberus, who was big and heavy enough to only slide back a few dozen meters from the force of the blast. Their chasers, however, were thrown back miles away, their light and sometimes inexistent bodies not being able to handle the strength of the explosion. When it was over, Percy and Grover looked on in shock.

There was a humongous crater in front of them, at least a mile across and almost half as deep. The Walls of Erebos were crumbled to pieces, showing the River Styx on the other side.

Grover finally snapped out of his trance and patted Cerberus on the head. "Just a little more, boy. Let's go!"

Percy put the Master Bolt back in his bag before the great beast rushed forward, sliding down the slope of the newly formed crater and running across its smoking bottom. They reached its other end, and before they knew it, the two remaining quest members had reached the very walls that had just tried to kill them.

Cerberus stopped, sitting sown on the ground. Getting the hint, both Grover and Percy slid off its back, roughly landing next to their temporary transport. The young demigod spotted the ferry on the river about to take off, and nudged Grover on the shoulder.

"Hey, we need to leave, like, _now_." With that, he waved a quick goodbye to the towering three-headed dog and ran off to the boat. "See ya, Cerberus! It's been real!"

Grover looked up to Cerberus and patted its hulking paw. "It _has_ been real," the satyr said. "Maybe I can come back sometime and play you something, eh?" The large monster reached down with one of its heads and licked Grover, drenching the satyr in giant dog saliva. "Uh." Grover stared down at his wet clothes, suppressing a groan of disgust, and grinned at Cerberus. "Yeah, uh, see you later then."

The satyr followed after Percy, and they both reached the ferry just in time to escape Hades' wrath, who reached the edge of the river in a blur of shadows and glared at them with absolute hatred.

**"I will destroy you, Perseus Jackson!"**

Percy, not afraid of the god anymore now that he couldn't get to him, gave the lord of the Underworld the middle finger. "Bite me, Hades! Oh, and keep the place clean, 'cause you can bet your pale ass that I'm coming back!"

Grover grunted in incredulity, and Charon, who was ferrying them back to the surface, raised an eyebrow at the demigod's attitude before shrugging.

Before they knew it, both quest-mates were back in the DOA Recording Studios, going up the elevator. When it opened, the two quickly got out and headed to the front doors before anyone recognized Percy.

Just as Grover was about to open the door, Percy stopped him.

"Wait, Grover." The satyr stopped, turning to face his friend, and the young demigod took a deep breath. "Okay, look. There's gonna be someone waiting outside for us, a powerful someone," he said. "I heard it in a dream," he added, seeing Grover's confused face.

The satyr groaned. "Great, first the Underworld, then Annabeth... Oh, Annabeth," his voice cracked, like he just remembered about his missing friend. "I... I can't believe she's gone."

Percy flinched. "About that," he began, "She's not dead."

Grover sighed in relief, his fears assuaged. He looked at Percy questioningly. "What happened, then?"

Percy looked down, his sadness returning now that they didn't have to run for their lives. "Annabeth... She's trapped in a cell in Hades' palace. It took me a while to break out of mine, and when I reached her, I... There wasn't enough time." He bit back a sob, remembering how helpless he had felt, how badly Annabeth must be suffering because of his failure. "She wanted me to leave without her... She promised that she'd end it if I sacrificed the world for her, one way or the other."

Grover nodded in understanding and sighed. "That definitely sounds like Annabeth. She's smart enough to know where her priorities should be."

Percy shook his head. "I... I'm sorry... I should've been faster, I should've been stronger, I should've-"

The satyr slapped him, soft enough to not be heard but strong enough to make a point. Percy rubbed his cheek, looking at his friend in surprise. "What was that for?"

Grover grinned sheepishly. "You told me not to blame myself for everything, remember? The way it sounds, there wasn't anything you could've done."

The psychokinetic remembered their conversation on the bus at the start of their quest, and smiled despite himself. "I guess you're right," he said.

Percy looked at his friend, the one who'd faced his fears and rescued him from Hades' clutches. "I'm sorry Grover," he apologized, and Grover cocked his head in confusion. "Y'know, for making fun of your music and stuff."

The satyr smiled and placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "It's okay, Percy. I'm sorry for acting like a tool when you did. Apology accepted?"

Percy smiled back. "Yeah, apology accepted."

With nothing else to say, both quest members each placed a hand on one of the double doors, ready to face the last challenge in their adventure.

* * *

**AN:**

**Yeah, all of that did just happen. So to anyone who was starting to think that this story was predictable... there you go.**

**By the way, sorry about the slow down in updates, but I've got other stuff to do, man.**

**The conclusion to part one is right there, you can almost feel it. It's not next chapter, obviously, since next chapter is the big fight. Like, BIG fight. So big that it might be bigger than ****_this_**** chapter, which I consider the biggest so far.**

**Who is waiting for our remaining heroes? Will the Master Bolt be safely brought back to Zeus, or will this mysterious (ha, yeah right) opponent be too much them to handle? Find out next time!**


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